Administrative law

Administrative law

If companies or organizations find themselves involved in a dispute with a government agency, administrative law will come into play. Examples include situations in which a company or organization disagrees with the reduction of a subsidy or grant or a regulator believes that a business owner is breaking rules and fines him/her because of this. Disputes could also arise if a permit is granted or refused or as the result of another decision that a municipality, province or another administrative body takes. You could benefit from the advice of the administrative law attorneys at Wijn & Stael in all these situations. These attorneys represent government agencies, companies and (other) organizations when they litigate against each other.

Specialists in the Open Government Act
The attorneys in our Administrative Law Section have a second-to-none and extensive knowledge of the latest legislation and regulations - including the Open Government Act (Wet open overheid (Woo)), which replaced the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur (Wob)) on 1 May 2022. The Open Government Act prioritizes the importance of public access to public information and, amongst other things, ensures that everyone has the right to request information from government organizations. So, companies and other (government) organizations regularly come up against this Act. For example, if a company wants to gain an insight into decision-making about a zoning change, the permits issued or information about an enforcement process, because of which it submits a Woo request to a government organization. Or also if a third party wants to gain an insight into (sensitive) data about you or your company that has been stored with an administrative body. Our administrative law attorneys will help you submit an appropriate Woo request at the appropriate time. They will also litigate for you if a Woo request is refused or there is a risk of your (sensitive) data becoming public because a third party has submitted a Woo request and you want to stop this happening. 

Legal assistance with regulation and enforcement 
You can also call on the assistance of our administrative law attorneys with regulation and enforcement cases. For example, situations where a regulator or an inspector from a government body imposes an order subject to a penalty for non-compliance or an administrative penalty because a business owner has broken certain rules, etc. Our attorneys can either help the regulator impose these measures or help the business owner challenge these measures. Our attorneys have years of experience in administrative law, because of which they are unfazed when proceedings take a different turn than expected. Our attorneys know exactly what they can do to accelerate proceedings, if necessary, or mark time if they suspect that other, more pragmatic, solutions are possible than (continued) litigation.

Strategic thinkers with a targeted approach
The attorneys at Wijn & Stael are known for their strategic insight and practical approach to every case. They will always discuss the best possible remedies for you, the client. Our administrative law attorneys are keenly aware of the different interests there are (or could be) in a case and will consider these when advising on how to proceed. Strategic thinking and a helicopter view are both key. Our administrative law attorneys know when to approach who and when to involve other (expert) parties - in consultation - if necessary. 

You can contact our Administrative Law Section for advice and to arrange litigation on the following, amongst other things:

  • The submission of a request under the Open Government Act and proceedings involving the Open Government Act; 
  • Regulation and enforcement issues on a number of matters, including catering establishments (and licenses for use as a catering establishment), housing (permits), illegal construction and public order; 
  • The granting and provision of subsidies and disputes about the determination of (the amount of) a subsidy; 
  • (The substantiation of and) applications for various permits, advising on obtaining permits and subsequent procedures, such as objection proceedings and appeal proceedings in court and before the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State. 

Interested?
Learn more about our administrative law attorneys by clicking on their photos below. Contact one of our attorneys for a no-obligation consultation.