The Council of State has criticised asylum minister David van Weel’s plans to ensure helping destitute refugees is criminalised, even after the parliament passed a bill making it an offence.

The far-right PVV party managed to insert an amendment to the government’s emergency asylum law that would make it a crime to offer any assistance to refugees living in the country illegally, even humanitarian aid.

Van Weel, who was justice minister at the time, said the measure was undesirable and would not be enforced until a solution is found so that the bill, which is currently held up in the Senate, can become law.

His plan was to append a legal note, known as a novelle, that allows the lower house to adjust a law that it has already sent to the Senate.

Van Weel, who took over responsibility  said he wanted to “avoid being vague” and ensure that “only illegal residence itself becomes punishable”.

But the Council of State, which issues non-binding legal advice on all government bills, said the measure was inappropriate because it had no basis in law. Van Weel could not exclude certain forms of help to be criminalised while allowing it in other cases.

It said the government had not taken sufficient care in drafting the law criminalising aid to illegal refugees and advised Van Weel to introduce a separate bill instead.

The PVV amendment was only passed as the result of a blunder by MPs for parties who opposed it, who tried to make use of the pairing system because the vote took place on the same day as Keti Koti, the annual commemoration of slavery.

One MP for the left-wing alliance GroenLinks-PvdA paired with a colleague from NSC, which supported the bill but opposed the amendment. That left opponents of the amendment a crucial vote short.

The Christian Democrats (CDA) immediately dropped their support for the bill, arguing that people should not face prison or a fine for offering humanitarian support such as a cup of soup to a starving refugee.