Government & Administration

The complex rules around government and administrative law mean that institutions, companies and individuals require precise and clear legal advice. The lawyers in our Government & Administration team advise on a wide variety of government-related legal matters. This may concern issues related to site and area development, environmental law, government liability, municipal law and general administrative law. We advise all branches of government, including municipalities, local authorities, semi-governmental institutions, insurers of municipalities, as well as companies and institutions that work with governments.

Our team & approach

Our Government & Administration team has extensive subject expertise and experience in the broadest sense. This knowledge and experience ensure that we serve as a valued advisor to governments, real estate developers and institutions in the healthcare and cultural sectors, for example.

We guide clients through the entire process, delivering solutions that resolve disputes efficiently and provide accurate and clear advice regarding opportunities that arise during proceedings. We also collaborate with other specialists within our firm, including the teams working in procurement and corporate law.

Expertise

Spatial planning & environmental law

We share our specialist and up-to-date knowledge of environmental law, including spatial planning, construction requirements, environmental standards and nature protection. We advise on permits, development and land-use plans, enforcement, damage related to zoning and planning, and compensation.

Area development

We provide advice on both public and private law issues related to area development, housing and energy transition projects. Our lawyers act as sparring partners for governments and real estate developers on various contracts, including anterior agreements, public-private partnership agreements or the sale of real estate where a municipality has right of pre-emption. We also assess whether a project should be put to tender and provide legal guidance during the tendering process. In addition, we advise and litigate on expropriations, where land is acquired by the government to implement (large-scale) projects.

Government liability

Government decisions or actions can cause damage to companies or individuals. It is often difficult to determine if all, some, or any of this damage is eligible for compensation. Our lawyers have extensive experience in advising and litigating on government liability. This may relate to damage inflicted as a result of unlawful government actions. However, damage might also be caused by lawful government actions, where compensation for disadvantage can potentially be claimed. In such cases, we work for governments, institutions, companies and insurers.

Constitutional and Municipal law

Our expertise on municipal law covers the distribution of powers within local government and how these powers are deployed during its functioning. An important focus lays on public order and safety. For example, our lawyers often advise on decisions regarding demonstrations and events, enforcement of the General Local Regulations (Algemene Plaatselijke Verordeningen, APV) and the problems surrounding subversion. We regularly share our knowledge through seminars for regional public order and safety officials.

General administrative law

We advise and litigate on a range of government decisions, such as subsidies, disclosure of information, the Promotion of Integrity in Public Administration Act (BIBOB Act), public law enforcement, social domain, privacy, and financial debts that are covered by administrative law.