News

We are pleased to keep you up-to-date with developments at the office

• Responsibility shipping agent 21 december 2011

  Further to a recent inspection of a sea-going vessel by the Transport, Public Works and Water Management Inspectorate, a fine was imposed not only on the captain but also the shipping agent. During the inspection, various violations with regard to the transport of hazardous substances came to light. The inspection revealed that the transport documents and the hazardous substances manifest of the shipper had not been signed, and the accompanying danger of the substances and segregation groups had not been specified.

  Prior to the entering into force of the Regulation on the Transport of hazardous substances by sea-going vessels (hereafter: the 'Regulation') only the captain of the vessel on which the violation was discoverd could be held responsible. The Regulation makes it possible, in addition to the captain of the vessel, to also hold the shipping agent who is charged with the drawing up of the hazardous substances manifest responsible for violations with regard to the transport of hazardous substances.

  With the entering into force of the Regulation, a vicarious liability for the transport of hazardous substances by sea has been introduced. The responsibility concerning the cargo thus no longer stops on dry land.

• Afternoon Seminar 28 november 2011

  For an entrepeneur, the course of procedure for the granting of permits is a costly undertaking, both in time and in money. The objective of the seminar is to offer the participants practical tips for saving time and costs which they can put into practice.

  We shall endeavour to acvhieve this by means of giving two interactive presentations. During the presentations, the following matters, amongst others, will be discussed:

  • the various permit trajectories;
  • recent legal developments;
  • points for attention regarding applications and the procedure;
  • the possible stages of projects and permit applications;
  • the position and attitude of the permit-granting authority;
  • the influence that can be exerted on the procedure and the content of the permit.

  The programme for the seminar is as follows:

  13:30 hours Reception

  14:00 hours Programme part I
  The application and all that this entails

  15:30 hours Interval

  16:00 hours Programme part II
  The procedure

  17:30 hours Close with drinks and nibbles

  If you wish to participate in this Seminar, please register via info@gaastra-advocaten.nl. The costs charged for your participation are EUR 350.00, exclusive of VAT.

• Scope of the Barim increased 28 november 2011

  The recent amendments to the Environmental Management (general rules) for Establishments Decree (Besluit algemene regels voor inrichtingen milieubeheer: the 'Barim') has placed even more activities under the operation of this Decree.

  The Barim, which is also called the Activities Decree (Actviteitenbesluit) has been amended and simplified on a number of points. The amendments form part of a larger project to increase the scope of the Activities Decree.

  Due to the recent amendments, activities in the rubber and synthetic processing industry, the foodstuffs industry, shooting facilities, cement industry, the printing technology industry and facilities for the maintenance, repair and cleaning of railway materials now also fall under the Activities Decree.

  Due to these amendments, the Emission Requirements for Medium-sized Combustion Plants Decree (Besluit emissie-eisen middelgrote stookinstallaties: the 'Bems') has been brought under the Activities Decree.

  The amending decree also provides for a number of simplifications. For example, a part of Chapter 4 has been moved to Chapter 3. Accordingly, the rules for the relevant activities also apply to type C establishments. This implies that establisments that were subject to permits are no longer required to apply for permits for those activities; they may suffice with a notification. The regulations for establishments subject to permits are now only laid down in Chapter 3.

  The amending decree also has the consequence that all establishments which fall under the European Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (the 'IPPC Directive') now fall under the type C establishments. Accordingly, the regulations laid down in Chapter 3 are applicable to all establishments in which an IPPC plant is present.

  Finally, by means of the amending decree, a number of repairs to regulations have been made and it has been regulated that the scope of the articles is no longer indicated in general in article 1.4 but is specifically indicated in the sections and paragraphs.

• Government Information Act 28 november 2011

  A request under the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur: the 'Wob') is not only applicable to government bodies.

  The fact that information, which has been requested on the basis of the Wob, is not in the hands of the government but in those of a private company or foundation, does not by definition mean that the responsible Minister does not have to comply with a Wob request. This according to a decision of the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State (the 'Division') of 16 november 2011.

  This case concerned a request of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation to make public documents from the year 2000 with respect to the outbreak of foot and mout disease. The Minister rejected the request in part on the basis of the fact that a number of documents were not in the hands of the ministry but with a private institution, the Central Veterinary Institute ('CVI'). The Minister stated that the operations of this institute did not come under his responsibility and therefore, the Institute did not fall under the Wob.

  The Division did not agree with the statement of the Minister. The CVI was a business, institution or service, the operations of which certainly did come under the responsibility of the Minister. The Division gave a number of considarations in this regard. First, the Ministry provides a number of subsidies to the CVI annually and it determines the manner in which the tasks for which those subsidies are intended are carried out. Second, the Ministry may give instructions to the Foundation for Agricultural Research Department ('DLO'), of which the CVI forms a part. In addition, the unit heads of the DLO were accountable to the Ministery. Finally, it was determined in the Articles of Association that the execution of statutory and service providing tasks had to be made as transparant as possible for those who had an interest therein, and that the DLO would provide all information to the Ministry of which the Ministry desired to be disposed for its tasks and obligations. The Wob is specifically mentioned in this.

  The influance of the ministry on the CVI is thus of such nature that it cannot be ruled that this is a business/institution which operates independently of the Ministry.

  The fact that the desired information is not in the hands of the government but in those of a private institution thus does not have to impede successfully invoking the Wob. It is sufficient to demonstrate that the government has an influence on the institution to such extend that this can be regarded as a service, business or institution which operates under the responsibility of the government.

• Postponement of the Barro 03 november 2011

  At the request of the standing Parliamentary Committee for Infrastructure and Environment, the Minister decided not to have the Barro enter into force on 1 october.

  This postponement will give the Lower House the opportunity to scrutinise the draft amendment to the Barro in conjunction at the same time.

• Building decree 2012 postponed 03 november 2011

  The entry into force of hte Building Decree 2012 had initially been scheduled for 1 january 2012. The reason for the postponement is a Decree called the 'Veegbesluit', which incorporates all amandments and adjustments made to the Building Decree. This Veegbesluit is not ready. The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations is of the opinion that, due to these most recent amendments, the civil servants of the Building and Housing Inspectorate are not yet sufficiently prepared to be able to assess the new plans on 1 january. The Minister has set the condition for the postponement that no more major amendments will be introduced to the Building Decree.

• Investigation company permits 03 november 2011

  The Groningen provincial executive has already investigated these hazardous companies, but is now having an external agency look at the permits anew. The reason for this new investigation is the situation at the company North Refinery. The investigation into this company's permit did not go altogether smoothly

• Building Decree 2012 11 october 2011

  The Building Decree 2012 replaces, amongst others, the Building Decree 2003 and the Decree on use. In all probability, the new Building Decree will enter into force on 1 January 2012.

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