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Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 29-06-2023 | 15:00

Minister Weerwind: “Lawyers have an indispensable role in the rule of law. They constitute essential access to the law. As a society we must be able to rely on lawyers fulfilling this special role, including all associated rights and obligations. Adequate supervision of the Bar is important, therefore. Moreover, current events make it clear that the profession is under great pressure. With the Independent Bar Regulator, there will be central and clear supervision. A careful balance in the organisation of the Regulator between an independent Bar and an independent government and substantive knowledge of regulation and of the Bar has been created.”

Independent of the government

The Regulator will have an independent position vis-à-vis the government. For example, the Minister has no role in appointments, adopting the budget and the daily course of business, and decisions of the Independent Bar Regulator cannot be annulled by Royal Decree. The board of the Regulator independently makes decisions and has independent access to staff, finances, housing and IT. In addition, the Regulator is given the opportunity to file a disciplinary complaint with the disciplinary court or impose a fine or an order subject to a penalty. Lawyers cannot invoke their duty of confidentiality vis-à-vis the Regulator, because the Regulator is given a similar duty of confidentiality, as well as the right of non-disclosure.

Independent of the Bar

The Independent Bar-Regulator will be a body of the public-law professional organisation the Dutch Bar Association but carries out its work as a regulatory body independently of the Bar. The Regulatory Board will have 5 members, with the majority of the board members, as well as the president, not being a lawyer. The board members will be appointed by an appointments advisory committee, consisting of 1 representative of the Bar, 1 research or regulatory representative and 1 member of a High Council of State. The existing Supervisory Board will have a different role and its composition will change. The general president will no longer be a part of this Supervisory Board. Instead, the Supervisory Board will consist of 3 members appointed by the Crown. The Supervisory Board will publicly report on the policies and the general course of affairs of the Independent Bar Regulator and approve the budget for the Regulator.

Reporting centre

There will be 1 central reporting centre the Independent Bar Regulator, which will receive all information, alerts and complaints about lawyers. The Regulator will refer complaints to the local deans to be handled there. It will be regulated by law that the Regulator and local deans may exchange information with each other for the purpose of handling complaints. In addition to handling complaints, the local deans also remain president of the local bar association and confidential adviser. The dean will also continue to provide information to lawyers.

Regarding the development of the bill announced today, Minister Weerwind has had advice from 3 professors and held discussions with many parties, including the Dutch Bar Association and the local deans, on how regulation may be strengthened. Minister Weerwind will soon develop the bill into legislation and is in consultation with the legal profession on the transition to the new Regulator.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 29-06-2023 | 13:52

Amendment to the Penal Code in connection with the increase of the maximum sentence for manslaughter

As of 1 July, the maximum prison sentence for manslaughter will be increased from 15 to 25 years. In 2006, an amendment to the Criminal Maximum Sentence Reassessment Act (Wet herijking wettelijke strafmaxima) increased the maximum term of temporary imprisonment as an alternative to life imprisonment from 20 to 30 years, for the purposes of reducing the gap between this sentence and life imprisonment. As a result, the maximum sentence for homicide was increased to 30 years. Raising the maximum for manslaughter to 25 years restores the balance between manslaughter and homicide. The difference in the maximum sentence will again amount to 5 years, as per the original difference. This increases the discretionary powers of judges to sentence appropriately in very severe manslaughter cases, if necessary.

Criminalisation of possession of instructional materials on the sexual abuse of children

The Penal Code will be broadened by the addition of a new criminal provision that independently criminalises preparatory acts with the intention of sexually abusing children. This criminalisation will prohibit the distribution, acquisition or possession of a manual containing tips and tricks for the sexual abuse of children. The offence will be punishable by a term of imprisonment of no more than four years.

Bill against marital captivity

The bill to counter marital captivity enables the court to provide for an arrangement ordering a spouse to cooperate in the dissolution of a religious marriage during divorce proceedings. The law also stipulates that, in principle, marriage partners are obliged to cooperate with the dissolution of a religious marriage should the other partner requests this. With this, the government aims to combat marital captivity.

Decree on random advertising for remote gambling

As of 1 July, random advertising for online gambling will be banned. The ban aims to better protect vulnerable groups, including youth, from the risk of gambling addiction. Summarily put, the advertising for online gambling banned as of 1 July relates to radio and TV commercials and billboards in the street. Targeted advertising may still be shown on the internet under strict conditions.

Decree on adjustment of statutory interest

As of 1 July, the statutory interest rate will be adjusted from 4% to 6%. Statutory interest is compensation for non-payment or late payment of a monetary claim. Unpaid claims may be increased by statutory interest. Citizens with claims receive statutory interest as compensation; citizens with debts pay statutory interest as compensation for non-payment. By law, the level of statutory interest must be assessed every six months based on the ECB rate. This has risen by more than 2% since the previous increase. The statutory interest rate is therefore now also increased by 2%.

Amendment of the Judicial Officers (Legal Status) Act in connection with the amendment of the consensus requirement in article 51 of the Wrra

The consensus requirement and many general substantive provisions in the Judicial Officers (Legal Status) Act (Wet rechtspositie rechterlijke ambtenaren; “Wrra”), have ceased to be applicable. The consensus requirement stipulates that amendments to a legal status regulation, insofar as a judicial official can derive rights and obligations from it, are only implemented if an agreement is reached on them with the Judiciary Sector Committee (Sectorcommissie rechterlijke macht). The legal status of the individual judicial official is not affected by this requirement no longer being applicable, as this involves a technical transposition into law.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 13-03-2020 | 22:49

The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak may lead to situations in which teaching will need to be organised differently, because there are fewer pupils, students, teachers and support staff.

In these situations, priority will be given to:

• Lessons for secondary schools pupils and students at schools for secondary vocational education preparing for their leaving examinations;
• lessons for pupils in the final year of primary school preparing for secondary school;
• teaching and childcare for the children of parents who need to be able to continue working, for example healthcare and emergency workers.

If children and young people have to stay at home, teaching will be organised for them too, wherever possible. Schools will receive help in continuing to provide the best possible education in the circumstances. Some lessons can be given online, enabling schools to respond to the recommendations issued on 12 March.

The coronavirus crisis and the measures to deal with it have led to much concern and an emotional response among schools and parents. Mr Slob and Ms Van Engelshoven understand people’s concerns. In a bid to provide more clarity on what these measures will mean for schools, they have entered into talks with the sector councils and trade unions.

Distance learning, regional cooperation and facilitation of teachers and support staff on whom even greater demands are no being placed, are some the issues the education ministers will be exploring and fleshing out together with the sector councils and trade unions. Secondary vocational education institutions have offered to look at how students can help provide childcare, particularly for the children of parents who have to go to work.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 15-01-2016 | 14:30

The plan is based on the government’s Business Monitor 2012-2015, which shows that although the gender ratio on company boards has improved slightly since 2015, it still fails to do justice to the wealth of female talent available. The government attaches great importance to a balanced distribution of seats on company boards, and wants to actively boost the percentage of women to prevent so much talent going to waste. The statutory target applies to 4,900 companies.

A balanced distribution would mean that at least 30% of the seats are held by women and 30% by men. If this target is not met, an explanation must be given in the directors’ report. Under the new bill, the target ratio – which lapsed on 1 January 2016 – will be extended to 31 December 2019. There will be a review in the spring of 2017 to track progress, followed by an audit in 2019.

The intention to extend the statutory target for gender balance on company boards was announced in a letter that the education minister sent to parliament on 16 November 2015, which discussed the results of the Business Monitor 2012-2015, as presented by the Talent to the Top Monitoring Commission.

The cabinet has agreed to submit the bill to the Council of State for an advisory opinion. The bill and the advisory opinion will be published when they are presented to the House of Representatives.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 14-07-2023 | 14:51

Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius:

“Denial of these kinds of heinous crimes against humanity is unfortunately commonplace. For example, we regularly see the monster of anti-Semitism rearing its head. This concerns me tremendously and should not be left unaddressed, as the lesson of the Holocaust is not just a history lesson. It is a lesson affecting the here and now. It is a lesson on discrimination, exclusion and ultimately: annihilation. It is a lesson on humanity and compassion. It is about good and evil, and speaking up when you witness a shift from one to the other. Let us continue to tell these stories, as the victims of these crimes are increasingly unable to do so themselves. Not timidly and in whispers, but confidently and with conviction.”

With this specific criminal prohibition, the cabinet is implementing European obligations to explicitly criminalize certain forms of publicly condoning, denying or substantially trivializing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Insulting forms of condoning, denying or trivializing these international crimes will be punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 1 year. The prohibition is a component of the Bill to re-implement European criminal law.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 13-07-2023 | 17:00

“Putting the judge in a position to impose more customized sentencing ensures a safer country. It prevents recidivism and increases the effectiveness of the system in achieving sentencing objectives. This analysis is a great contribution, and we can prepare the building blocks for the following cabinet to continue this development,”

states Minister Franc Weerwind.

The analysis was therefore conducted with the criminal justice chain and scientists to determine whether our current sentencing system sufficiently considers which sentence is most appropriate. By imposing a penalty, we compensate injustice. In doing so, we do justice to victims and work to prevent crime recurrence.

One of the opportunities explored is for convicts to serve their sentence from the outset in a limited-security section of the prison so that they do not lose their jobs or homes. Another is for community service to be expanded to include care and learning elements. This contributes to the successful completion of community service and to preventing the criminal from re-offending. Additionally, the judge occasionally lacks specific information when imposing a sentence or deciding whether someone should remain incarcerated pending the hearing of the criminal case. If the judge receives advice from the probation service more often at an early stage, the judge can better decide whether to detain a suspect.

With the elaboration of these nine opportunities, Weerwind is responding to a motion by House of Representatives member Joost Sneller (D66). Given the caretaker status of the cabinet, decisions on the implementation of measures must be made by the successive ministers involved.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 12-07-2023 | 08:00

The phenomenon of doxing is not uncommon. Personal data, such as addresses and phone numbers, as well as private information about family members, is circulated in app groups so that this information can be used to instil fear in others. This has a significant impact on the people who are harassed in this way. They fear for their safety and that of their loved ones. They can no longer express their opinions without concern. Or they are no longer able to perform their professional duties. This affects our fundamental freedoms, and the functioning of our democratic rule of law.

It is often aid workers, police officers, journalists and politicians who become victims of doxing. But scientists, opinion makers or municipal employees are also confronted with people distributing or forwarding their personal data with the objective of harassment. Earlier, the House of Representatives and employers such as the police also expressed concern about their employees and called for a criminal justice approach to this problem. Doxing is not limited to certain professions; people can face this for a range of reasons. These include a person posting a photo and phone number of an ex-partner on a dubious online forum to instil fear in them.

Justice and Security Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius: “Keep your hands off our social workers, police officers and others who dedicate themselves in any way to our free society! Spreading private data to instil fear in another person is absolutely unacceptable. Journalists, scientists and politicians must always be able to speak freely. We cannot and must not accept that families no longer feel safe at home. I am therefore pleased that the Senate also agrees with this bill and that we are jointly drawing a line: anyone can become a victim of doxing and we must be able to protect them against it.”

Much harassment behaviour is already punishable. Think of threats and stalking. However, harassment through the use of personal data is often not criminally actionable in practice. For example, because there is no threat of a serious crime or a systematic invasion of the individual’s privacy. Obtaining, distributing or otherwise making available identifying personal data of another person or a third party with the aim of instilling fear in that other person, causing severe disturbances to that other person or seriously hindering that person in the performance of his or her duties or profession will be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of two years or a fine of up to EUR 22,500. The maximum jail term will be increased by one-third in the event of doxing against persons with a specific profession, such as mayors, politicians, judges, lawyers, journalists and police officers.

With the new law, police and prosecutors will have broader possibilities to act against doxing. In addition, the victim can also initiate their own civil proceedings if it is known who posted the offending content online. Compensation and the online removal of the offending content can then be demanded. If the offender is not known, the intermediary hosting the content can always be notified. Intermediaries such as internet providers and online platforms have a role to act if they are aware that their platforms or servers are hosting infringing or unlawful content.

Source: Government of the Netherlands
The Senate approved two bilateral treaties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today to address cross-border organised crime. The agreements include a treaty on providing mutual legal assistance and a treaty on extradition. They will enter into force after publication in the Official Gazette. The bilateral treaties form a component of Justice and Security Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius’ broader agenda for increased international cooperation in tackling organised subversive crime.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 07-07-2023 | 15:00

Forecast 

As the current inflow is lower than expected, the forecast from earlier this year will be reassessed and we will determine whether there is reason to adjust the accommodation capacity. The results will be available at the end of August and safety regions and municipalities will be informed. 

Inflow 

There are currently almost 95,000 refugees from Ukraine registered in the municipal Key Register of Persons (BRP). Over 76,000 of them are accommodated in municipal reception centres. A steady inflow of refugees is ongoing and refugees from Ukraine are expected to continue arriving in the Netherlands over the coming period. Especially as the conflict is prolonged. We therefore continue to ask security regions and municipalities to continue working towards 90,000 accommodation spaces for the time being.

Source: Government of the Netherlands

News item | 27-05-2021 | 16:45

The announced extension of the support package is expected to cost €6 billion. The government has now provided a total of €80 billion to support businesses and workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The government wants to help as many fundamentally healthy companies as possible to weather the crisis. Continuing with support measures for too long is risky, because it makes normal economic development more difficult. On the other hand, there is still great uncertainty about the near future and some businesses have run out of reserves. The support packages are designed to be responsive to changing needs: higher losses in turnover will trigger extra support. But as the economy opens up further, businesses will be able to generate more turnover and will grow out of the support packages.

The return to a healthy economy, with normal economic dynamics, is very important for the Netherlands’ earning power. In view of the current situation and developments, it has now been decided to continue the package in the third quarter. The government will continue to monitor the situation closely and address any issues that arise.

TVL and NOW

The government plans to continue the Fixed Costs Grant Scheme (TVL) and the Temporary Emergency Scheme for Job Retention (NOW) in the third quarter. In order to better support startups, growing businesses and businesses that have got into difficulties as a result of the standard reference period for calculating a TVL grant, they have been able to choose between two reference periods since the start of the second quarter. In addition, the TVL grant ceiling for large companies will be raised to €1.2 million for the second quarter. The new reference month for NOW grants will be February 2021. The scheme’s extension and adjustment are expected to cost €2 billion.

TOZO and TONK

The government also intends to continue the Self-employment Income Support and Loan Scheme (TOZO) and the Temporary Support Scheme for Necessary Costs (TONK) in the third quarter. When future applications are being considered, TOZO will focus more on supporting and encouraging businesses so that they can get back on their own feet as quickly as possible. Repayment of TOZO working capital loans has been deferred by six months to 1 January 2022. Until then, no interest will be charged. The term of the loans has also been extended from 42 to 60 months. The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has asked the parties concerned to apply this scheme generously, give it more publicity and extend its reach. Several large municipalities have already announced their intention to do so.

The government is also taking a number of measures to ease the debt burden of businesses and improve their financial position.

Concurrent use of NOW and TVL

Starting from phase 3 of NOW (i.e. the grant periods from October 2020), TVL grants will no longer count as turnover when calculating NOW grants. This change means that many employers will receive more money when applying for a definitive grant after the start of phase 3. This will give them more breathing space and help them stand on their own feet again. The measure will cost around €1.5 billion.

Tax measures

Businesses can start later and take longer to pay off the tax debt they have built up as a result of the coronavirus crisis. They will now only have to start paying from 1 October 2022 and will have five years to do so, instead of having three years from 1 October 2021. Businesses are, however, expected to start paying tax again as normal from 1 July 2021.

The payment conditions will also be further relaxed. Late payment interest, an incentive to pay tax on time, will gradually return to the old level. This means that on 1 January 2022, late payment interest will be set at 1% instead of 4%, and will then be raised step by step, until it reaches 4% on 1 January 2024.

At present, over 250,000 businesses have been granted tax deferrals worth a total of €16 billion. This has therefore been a key measure in supporting businesses through these difficult times. Many businesses have already paid at least part of the amount they owe; a total of €36 billion in deferred tax was outstanding. To prevent inequality between businesses, no generic waiver of outstanding tax debts has been granted.

The government wants to provide viable businesses with further help if the above measures are not sufficient for them to continue. The Tax and Customs Administration can help by adopting a flexible stance, especially if other creditors do the same. The government is holding talks on this matter with such creditors. Roundtable discussions will be organised shortly to accelerate the process. Possible measures include creditors giving up their preferential status.

Certain other tax measures taken due to the pandemic, such as mortgage payment holidays and tax-free travel allowances, will be extended until 1 October 2021.

Agreements have been made with the implementing organisations on lenient rules for repaying government funding if too much was received. Tailor-made solutions will be sought wherever possible.

Time Out Arrangement (TOA)

Since the start of this year, businesses have been able to use the Court Approval of a Private Composition (Prevention of Insolvency) Act (WHOA) in order to reach an arrangement with creditors. The act helps businesses that have had to incur debt as a result of the crisis. The government is also providing €200 million in low-interest loans for SMEs so that they can restart, expand or modify their operations after concluding a WHOA arrangement. TOA loans are part of a set of measures to enable companies to get back on track after the crisis.

Other measures

• The government has taken a detailed look at additional options for large retail and other businesses. All things considered, it has decided not to introduce a separate grant scheme for this purpose. A new scheme would be very untargeted and also complicated to implement. Tailor-made support remains the best way to prevent viable large companies from going bankrupt.
• The credit guarantee schemes for SMEs, such as the BMKB-C, KKC, GO-C and the bridging loan scheme involving the microfinance organisation Qredits, will be extended until 31 December 2021.
• After June 30, the government will discontinue the supplier credit reinsurance guarantee scheme. Thanks to the favourable economic outlook, the scheme is no longer necessary. Insurers will continue to offer cover even without a guarantee from the Dutch state, based on a thorough risk analysis.
• The support package for culture and the creative industries will be continued in the third quarter of 2021, so that the cultural infrastructure remains intact and jobs are preserved. €25 million is available in direct support for self-employed persons in the cultural and creative industries, and €45 million for cultural institutions forming part of the basic national infrastructure (BIS) and institutions with a mandate under the Heritage Act. An additional €25.75 million is available in loans for monuments and historic buildings that are open to the public.
• The support measures for sport and agriculture and horticulture that applied in the first and second quarters will in principle be extended for another quarter.
• For zoos, the government is allocating €42.5 million for the period in the second quarter of 2021 when they were still closed. This funding is for ongoing costs, such as caring for the animals. Zoos are now open again but have put coronavirus measures in place.