နိုင်ငံတော်ကောင်စီ- Raad van ပြည်နယ်သို့ ပိုမိုမြင့်မားသော အယူခံဝင်မှု မည်သို့အလုပ်လုပ်သည်

The Council of State (Raad van State) is both an adviser to the Government and the Netherlands’ highest general administrative court. Its Administrative Jurisdiction Division (Afdeling bestuursrechtspraak) hears higher appeals against most administrative judgments of the district courts within six weeks of the judgment (Article 6:7 Awb); the main exceptions are social security and civil service cases, which go to the Centrale Raad van Beroep, economic regulation, which goes to the College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven, and tax, which goes to the Hoge Raad.

This page explains what the Division decides, how to find the right court, how the higher appeal (hoger beroep) runs under the General Administrative Law Act (Algemene wet bestuursrecht, Awb), and what it costs.

What is the Council of State?

The Council of State is a constitutional body in The Hague with two separate divisions. The Advisory Division (Afdeling advisering) advises the Government and Parliament on bills, orders in council and treaties; the Administrative Jurisdiction Division is a court.

The King is formally President; the Vice-President leads the institution, and its members (staatsraden) are appointed by Royal Decree. When Dutch lawyers say “the Afdeling”, they mean the judicial division. It sits in three chambers: Environment and Planning (Omgevingskamer), General (Algemene kamer) and Immigration (Vreemdelingenkamer).

Can a body that advises on laws also judge cases under them?

Yes, because the two functions have been separated by statute since 2010. The European Court of Human Rights had questioned the combination under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights in Procola v Luxembourg (1995) and examined it again for the Netherlands in Kleyn and Others v the Netherlands (2003), where it found no violation on the facts.

The Wet op de Raad van State now keeps advisory and judicial work in two divisions, with rules preventing a member from judging a measure he or she advised on. In practice this means the judges hearing your appeal did not advise on the legislation at issue.

Which cases does the Administrative Jurisdiction Division decide?

The Division mainly hears higher appeals against district court (rechtbank) judgments in administrative cases. Under Article 8:105 Awb it is the appeal court unless the Bevoegdheidsregeling bestuursrechtspraak, a schedule to the Awb, or another statute assigns a case elsewhere.

That covers most administrative litigation: environmental permits and enforcement, subsidies, အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဒဏ်ကြေးများ, အောက်ပါတို့အောက်ရှိ တောင်းဆိုမှုများ ပွင့်လင်းအစိုးရအက်ဥပဒေ, and refusals or withdrawals of licences. Article 8:104 Awb lists which judgments can be appealed: final judgments of the district court, decisions of the interim relief judge that also decide the main case, and judgments on damages claims under Article 8:88 Awb.

When is the Division the first and only court?

For a defined group of decisions there is no district court stage: you appeal straight to the Division, and its judgment is final. These are mainly planning and environmental decisions, such as the omgevingsplan and project decisions under the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet), in force since 1 January 2024.

The list sits in chapter 2 of the Bevoegdheidsregeling bestuursrechtspraak. The aim is speed; the price is one hearing and one judgment, so your grounds must be complete within the six-week period.

How do immigration appeals differ?

In immigration cases the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet 2000, Vw 2000) shortens the deadlines and tightens the formal rules. The higher appeal period is generally four weeks instead of six, and two weeks after certain accelerated asylum decisions (Article 69 Vw 2000).

The notice of appeal must contain specific grievances against the district court judgment straight away (Article 85 Vw 2000); a notice without grounds cannot be repaired later. The Division may limit its reasoning when it dismisses a grievance (Article 91 Vw 2000), and it must rule within 23 weeks of receiving the appeal (Article 89 Vw 2000). Some decisions, such as short-stay visas, cannot be appealed at all (Article 84 Vw 2000).

Which highest administrative court handles your case?

The Netherlands has three highest administrative courts, plus the Hoge Raad for tax. The subject of the decision determines which one is competent.

To find your court, check three things in this order:

• The remedies clause (rechtsmiddelenclausule) at the end of the decision or judgment, which names the court and the period.
• The statute under which the decision was taken, read with the Bevoegdheidsregeling bestuursrechtspraak.
• If the deadline is close and you are unsure, file anyway: under Article 6:15 Awb a court that is not competent must forward the appeal, and the date of first receipt counts.

How does higher appeal work?

You file a notice of appeal (hogerberoepschrift) within six weeks, then the Division exchanges documents, holds a hearing and gives a written judgment. The sections below follow that order.

What is the deadline and what must the notice contain?

The period is six weeks (Article 6:7 Awb, applied to higher appeal by Article 6:24 Awb), starting the day after the district court sent its judgment. A notice that arrives in time is valid; a notice posted before the deadline also counts if it arrives no later than one week after it (Article 6:9 Awb).

Under Article 6:5 Awb the notice must be signed and state your name and address, the date, the judgment you appeal against and your grounds. Outside immigration cases you may file a notice without grounds (pro forma) to protect the deadline; the Division then sets a period to add them, and if you miss it the appeal can be declared inadmissible (Article 6:6 Awb). A late appeal is only saved if the delay is excusable (Article 6:11 Awb), which courts accept rarely.

What must the grounds of appeal address?

Higher appeal is aimed at the district court judgment, not at the original decision. Your grounds must explain what the district court got wrong and why; the rules of the first-instance procedure apply largely unchanged (Article 8:108 Awb).

A party who partly lost and wants to challenge that part can file a cross-appeal (incidenteel hoger beroep) within six weeks after the Division sent it the grounds of appeal (Article 8:110 Awb). Further documents can be filed up to ten days before the hearing (Article 8:58 Awb). Under the relativity requirement of Article 8:69a Awb, the Division will not annul a decision for breach of a rule that clearly does not protect your interests, which often blocks competitors who challenge a rival’s permit.

How does the hearing go?

The Division decides whether a single judge or a chamber of three hears the case; single-judge treatment is used for straightforward cases. The judges have read the file and question the parties on specific points, so the hearing is a focused discussion rather than a speech.

Under Article 8:66 Awb the court gives its written judgment within six weeks after the hearing closes, extendable once by up to six weeks in special circumstances. In practice complex planning cases often take longer, and the Division tells the parties when to expect the judgment.

Does an appeal stop the decision from taking effect?

No. Under Article 6:16 Awb an appeal does not suspend the decision, so a permit holder may start building while the case is pending.

To stop that, you ask the president of the Division for a provisional measure (voorlopige voorziening) under Article 8:81 Awb. You need a pending appeal and an urgent interest; the president balances the interests and takes a provisional view of the merits. A separate court fee is due. If no further investigation is needed, the president may decide the main case at once (Article 8:86 Awb), so prepare the merits in full. File the request together with the appeal if the decision allows irreversible work.

What can the Division decide?

The Division can confirm the district court judgment, declare the appeal inadmissible, or quash the judgment and do what the district court should have done (Article 8:113 Awb). In that last case it can annul the decision, order a new one, or settle the matter itself.

• Dismiss: the appeal fails and the district court judgment stands.
• Inadmissible: a defect in deadline, standing, fee or form.
• Quash and decide: the Division gives the judgment the district court should have given (Article 8:113 Awb).
• Remit: the case goes back to the district court in the situations listed in Article 8:115 Awb, for example where that court wrongly declared itself incompetent or the appeal inadmissible.

Between annulment and dismissal sits the administrative loop (bestuurlijke lus) of Articles 8:51a to 8:51d Awb. The Division can give the authority a set period to repair a defect, such as missing research or inadequate reasons, and then rule on the repaired decision. This is common in planning cases and aims to end the dispute in one round.

Can you appeal a judgment of the Council of State?

No. A judgment of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division is final; there is no cassation to the Hoge Raad. Revision (herziening) under Article 8:119 Awb is possible only for facts that existed before the judgment, could not reasonably have been known to you, and would have changed the outcome.

Once domestic remedies are exhausted you can apply to the European Court of Human Rights, but that does not reopen the Dutch judgment. Where an annulled decision caused loss, you can claim ပျက်စီးဆုံးရှုံးမှု under Article 8:88 Awb. As a court of last instance the Division must also refer questions of EU law to the Court of Justice of the EU where the answer is necessary and unclear, which can add more than a year.

What does a higher appeal cost?

The court fee (griffierecht) for higher appeal in 2026 is €147 or €297 for a natural person, depending on the type of decision, and €596 for a company or other legal entity (Article 8:109 Awb). If you win, the authority repays the fee (Article 8:114 Awb).

The Division can order the losing authority to pay your legal costs (Article 8:75 Awb), but only at fixed rates under the Besluit proceskosten bestuursrecht, based on points per procedural step. The award is a contribution and usually covers only a small part of a commercial legal bill. A lawyer is not compulsory: under Article 8:24 Awb you may act yourself or through an authorised representative. Proceedings are in Dutch (Article 2:6 Awb); an interpreter can be arranged for a party who does not speak Dutch.

How long does a case take?

Most higher appeals take many months, and planning cases often more than a year. Immigration appeals are faster by law: the Division must rule within 23 weeks of receiving the appeal (Article 89 Vw 2000).

The Division publishes average durations per chamber in the Council of State’s annual report on raadvanstate.nl. Expert evidence, an administrative loop or a preliminary reference to the Court of Justice all add time. Interim relief is decided much faster, often within weeks.

What should you check if you are appealing?

Most appeals are lost on time limits and missing grounds, not on the merits. Check these points as soon as the district court judgment arrives:

• The date the judgment was sent: the six-week period (four weeks in most immigration cases) starts the next day.
• The court named in the remedies clause, and whether it matches the statute behind the decision.
• Which parts of the district court’s reasoning you contest, ground by ground.
• Whether the rule you rely on protects your own interests (Article 8:69a Awb).
• Whether work under the decision can start now, so that you need a provisional measure.
• The court fee: pay it within the period the Division sets, or the appeal can be declared inadmissible.

What should you check if your permit or decision is challenged?

As a permit holder or authority you are a party to the appeal and can respond and cross-appeal. Check these points:

• Whether the appeal was filed in time and contains real grounds against the judgment.
• Whether the appellant can rely on the rules invoked under the relativity requirement.
• Whether parts of the judgment that went against you justify a cross-appeal within six weeks (Article 8:110 Awb).
• Whether a request for a provisional measure is pending and what starting work now would risk.
• Whether a defect could be repaired through an administrative loop rather than an annulment.

What can we do for you with an appeal to the Council of State?

ကျွန်တော်တို့၏ အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေ ရှေ့နေများ act for businesses, institutions and private clients before the Administrative Jurisdiction Division. We can:

• Check the deadline and the competent court as soon as the judgment or decision arrives.
• File a timely notice of appeal and draft complete grounds against the district court judgment.
• Request a provisional measure from the president where work would otherwise start.
• Draft a statement of defence or cross-appeal if you are the permit holder.
• Prepare you for the hearing and attend it with you.
• Assess a damages claim under Article 8:88 Awb after an unlawful decision.

အကျဉ်းချုပ်

• The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State is the highest general administrative court; its judgments are final.
• Higher appeal must be filed within six weeks of the district court judgment (Articles 6:7 and 6:24 Awb); in most immigration cases four weeks or less.
• Certain planning and environmental decisions go straight to the Division as first and only instance.
• An appeal does not suspend the decision (Article 6:16 Awb); a provisional measure under Article 8:81 Awb can.
• The 2026 court fee for higher appeal is €147, €297 or €596; legal costs are reimbursed only at fixed rates.

မကြာခဏမေးခွန်းတွေမေး