Aroon Gonesh has been an administrative law attorney for over 18 years.
Dutch administrative law concerns the legal relations between the government, on the one hand, and the citizen (both individuals and companies), on the other. You have to deal with administrative law when you need a permit or when certain rules of administrative law are violated and a coercive measure is imposed, for example an order under penalty. Objections may be lodged against government decisions under certain conditions.
Examples of cases settled under administrative law in the Netherlands include:
The decisions of a public body in the Netherlands, such as a municipality, are often subject to multiple regulations.
Partly for this reason, the application of administrative law is not easy for the uninitiated, such as individuals or companies.
Aroon Gonesh is specialized as a lawyer in the field of administrative law and the application of the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht - Awb), and has long experience in this area of law.
Under Dutch administrative law, all administrative proceedings proceed in broadly the same way.
The procedure starts on the basis of a decision by a government body. An interested party may object to such a decision within six weeks. Who is an interested party in this sense? An interested party is in any case the person who has asked the administrative authority for a decision. Under certain circumstances, a third party can also be an interested party. If an interested party objects to a government decision, the relevant administrative body must make a decision on that objection.
If the person submitting such an objection subsequently disagrees with the decision on the objection, he may appeal. A notice of appeal must be submitted to the competent court, usually the district court, within six weeks of the decision on the objection. Usually the person filing the appeal can explain it during an oral hearing. This also applies to the administrative body; during this hearing, the government may also provide an explanation of the decision on the objection.
If the party that has appealed does not agree with the court's decision, it is possible in most cases to appeal. The appeal is usually heard by the Afdeling Bestuursrechtspraak van de Raad van State. In certain special cases, the appeal is handled by other appeal courts, such as the College van Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven.
Administrative law in the Netherlands covers a range of topics. Below, we list some common topics covered by Dutch administrative law as examples.
A zoning plan determines what is allowed to happen on a certain territory. The zoning plan indicates, for example, whether a certain piece of land is intended for housing or whether stores or industry may be established there. An interested party can influence the content of a zoning plan by (with or without the help of an administrative law lawyer) submitting a so-called "zienswijze" ("view") when the draft zoning plan is available for inspection at the town hall. The municipality must then take such a view into consideration in the final deliberation of the zoning plan. A draft zoning plan is available for inspection for six weeks. After this period the municipality has 12 weeks to deal with all the viewpoints and draw up a final zoning plan. The municipality then has another two weeks to publish the new zoning plan.
A new zoning plan can cause damage. After all, a house or a piece of land can become worth less because the municipality is going to enable a freeway near it with the new zoning plan. A party who suffers damage as a result of a new zoning plan can request compensation within five years if it believes it is suffering damage as a result of the new zoning plan. Such a request for compensation for planning damage is made to the municipality. The municipality's decision on this request for compensation for planning damage can then be appealed.
A decision by an authority in the Netherlands may cause damage. A person who suffers damage as a result of such a decision may, under certain circumstances, claim compensation. There are basically two types of compensation.
Disadvantage compensation ("nadeelcompensatie") is comparable to the compensation of plan damage (for a new zoning plan). Disadvantage compensation involves the compensation of certain damage due to a decision by the government that in itself was taken lawfully, but nevertheless leads to damage.
If someone is harmed by an unlawful government decision, they are entitled to compensation under certain circumstances.
When a government agency makes a decision, this decision can be annulled by the court. Such a judicial annulment of a government decision, makes the decision unlawful. All damage suffered as a result of the unlawful decision can usually be attributed to the administrative body. The aggrieved party is then entitled to compensation. It is important to show that the damage would not have been suffered if the government body had taken a lawful decision.
Often, damages arise from an actual act of a governmental body, due to negligence or carelessness. Anyone who suffers loss due to such an unlawful factual act or omission of a governmental body in the Netherlands may file a claim for damages.
Because Dutch administrative law can be complex, it is often wise to engage an Dutch administrative lawyer at an early stage of the case, for example when you want to object to a decision made by an administrative body.
Aroon Gonesh assists businesses, individuals and government agencies alike.
When you are facing a dispute with the Dutch authorities, you don't want just any administrative lawyer. You want a good administrative law lawyer in the Netherlands. If possible, the best lawyer for you and your case.... I strive to be that for my clients. Constantly. A good administrative law lawyer in the Netherlands. Advocacy is not my job ... it is my passion. The trust that clients have in me for that reason is a matter of honor for me. Their interests are always leading for me as a lawyer. That drives me.
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