Overheidsaansprakelijkheid
Governmental liability
Governmental liability is the liability of the government for damage resulting from unlawful acts or omissions by public bodies.
Government liability means that public authorities, like private parties, may be held liable for tortious acts under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. This encompasses both factual conduct and decisions or legislation that contravene the law or a standard of care.
The regime is significant in that it affords citizens and businesses a civil-law avenue to claim compensation where government action has caused damage, for example through the erroneous granting of permits or improper enforcement measures. It thereby forms an important component of legal protection against the authorities.
In practice, government liability claims are frequently pursued first through the administrative-law route (objection and appeal) and subsequently resolved in civil proceedings, in which the court examines whether unlawfulness, damage and causation are established.
“The entrepreneur held the municipality liable on grounds of governmental liability after an environmental permit that had been granted was unjustly revoked, thereby causing substantial delay damages.”
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