The Open Government Act, in Dutch the Wet open overheid, gives anyone the right to request information held by an administrative body. No interest need be shown: the applicant does not have to explain why the documents are wanted. The Act also requires active publication of certain categories of information.
Legal basis
The Act entered into force on 1 May 2022, replacing the Government Information (Public Access) Act. Article 4.1 governs the request, which is not subject to formal requirements but must be sufficiently specific. Article 4.4 sets the decision period: four weeks, with a single two-week extension, and further extension by agreement where the request is very extensive. Articles 5.1 and 5.2 contain the exemptions, divided into absolute grounds such as the unity of the Crown and confidential business data, and relative grounds requiring a balancing exercise. Article 4.7 requires third parties whose interests are affected to be informed, so that they can lodge their own objection.
How it works in practice
A good request is specific as to subject, period and type of document. Requests that are too broad lead to extension, consultation and ultimately delay. Documents are almost always supplied partly redacted, stating the exemption relied on for each passage. That justification matters: without it per item, a refusal is hard to review and therefore vulnerable on objection. Personal policy views in documents prepared for internal deliberation remain outside disclosure in principle, but may be provided in anonymised form.
Where it goes wrong
Administrative bodies routinely exceed the deadline on large requests; the penalty for late decision is however excluded for these requests, leaving only an appeal against failure to decide. On the applicant’s side, the classic error is a request so wide that it takes years. Third parties who are approached often let the response period lapse, so that their business data are disclosed after all.
Related terms
The response to a request is an administrative decision, open to a notice of objection, including by the third party whose data are at risk of publication.
Would you like to request information, or prevent your business data from being disclosed? Our administrative lawyers act on both sides.
