CIVIC INITIATIVES VS. LEGAL ISSUES IN THE NETHERLANDS AND BEYOND
Mark Verhijde – Program manager and consultant urbanism commissioned by Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
project participation in collaboration with UT Twente NL
July 2014 - 3rd Project Meeting in Magdeburg DE Open Government in Europe Project
GRUNDTVIG Lifelong Learning Partnership (LLP) Program
Outline case
• Research Civic Initiatives, DIY & Liability 2013
– Basic research questions
– Participants and proces
– Basic results 1-4
– Refining results 1-2
– Learning issues
• Comparing civic initiatives NL with other countries in EU
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Example Den Helder
• Citizens maintain public space
• Contract with municipality
• Volunteers are trained on safety issues and quality of their work
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Preview
• Case is NOT about general / common efforts to make DIY & civic initiatives possible (process to empower citizens, role municipality, funding)
• Case aims to illustrate 2 perspectives: actions of citizens vs. actions in legal domain
• Both are true and present in the real world
• Power struggle between 2 perspectives
• Good Practice Open Government: new balance shifting power to DIY and civic initiatives
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Example Venray
• Citizens design and realise main street (bricks and green)
• Budgets from municipalty and citizens
• Co-creation
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Basic research questions
• Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
• Research on civic initiatives, DIY & liability 2013
• Are legal issues such as liability, damage and risk assessment restricting civic initiatives?
• Landscape civic initiatives, DIY current system
• Possible alternatives on legal issues
• Options for radical experimenting
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Example Amersfoort
• Skeleton: Citizens & artist create wooden object for playing
• Focus on learning how to deal with safety and risks
• Prohibited: Law on Public Playing Objects (WAS)
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Participants and proces
• Management: Mark Verhijde & Maarten Bosman
• 3 municipalities: Den Helder, Deventer, Venray
• 5 experts: CROW, WijkAlliantie, LPB, En de buurt and Van Alphen Legal Consultancy
• Desk research and interview sessions
• Workshops and meetings
• 67 civic initiatives in public space and buildings
• Research results with tools, myths, schemes and many examples
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Basic results 1
• Dutch systems: General Administrative Law Act (GALA or Awb:NL) and Civil Laws
• GALA describes administrative law provisions (making, opposing and judicial reviewing)
• Civil Law (or private law) describes the rules for relationships between people (i.e. family law, property law)
• Liability is part of Civil Law domain
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Example Arnhem
• Popup Festival on toplevel parking lot
• Permit given for temporary use
• Zoning regulations do not allow for events
• Arnhem tolerates civic initiative
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Basic results 2
• On damage in NL: everyone is responsible for damage from own actions (i.e. general liability)
• Two exceptions on general liabillity:
– Contracts: damage from breach of contract
– Specific civil laws: ownership (of property, animals), parents-children (14 year), organization-employees
• Damage = paying money or insurance
• Managing liability = minimize risks of claims
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Requirements on safety
• “Kelderluik-arrest”:NL
• High Court decision on events and safety of volunteers and visitors
• Accident due to open cellar hatch
• Civic initiative liable for damage
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Basic results 3
• Municipalities & civic initiatives: legal strategies
– Formal (4): permit, prohibit, tolerance, contract
– Informal (2): adapt, cocreate (adopt)
• Main objectives: minimize risks of claims, prevention, safety, “hassle”
• -/- Municipalities: overreacting on risks
• -/- Civic initiatives: dealing with complex legal world (knowledge, language, forms, arguments)
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Scheme on risks civic initiatives
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Basic results 4
• Municipalities w.r.t. civic initiatives & DIY
– Liability is NO RESTRICTION
– Ownership is fact, important to manage risks
• Civic initiatives & DIY
– Liability is NO RESTRICTION
– With proper knowledge, risks are managed
– Without such knowledge, no action on liability
– Dealing with legal issues is RESTRICTION
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Example Utrecht
• Urban Gardening on temporary base
• Citizens: let’s grow tomatoes. Utrecht: let’s make a deal first
• Complex contract not signed by citizens
• Utrecht tolerates DIY
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Refining results 1
• Municipalities: make it more simple
– One administrative policy w.r.t. civic initiatives
– Proper communication on legal issues
– Dare to choose on legal tools
– More objective risk assessment
– Avoid complex contracts and permits
– Enhancement via online information & social media
– Local insurance for civic initiatives
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Refining results 2
• Municipalities: radical experimenting
– Expand tolerance options
– Propose areas without administrative laws
– Introduce new DIY-friendly ordinance to outrank other local laws in administrative system
• Civic initiatives: DIY on process and legal issues
– Make your own contract (permit, etc.)
– Network for selfhelp on process and legal issues
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Example Deventer
• Festival Deventer op Stelten
• Various permits
• Safety regulations due to large crowd
• High risk event
• Professional handling and organization
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Learning issues
• Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
– Exchange research results among municipalities
– Collect best practices
– Experiments on legal freezones
– Stimulate knowledge exchange on liability
• Municipalities
– Participate in Learning Groups
– Implement tools to make legal issues more simple
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Comparing civic initiatives NL with other countries
• 2 perspectives also in other countries?
• Legal issues like liability NL in other countries?
• Common legal practices which may help DIY NL?
• Insights from DIY NL usefull for other countries?
• Become partner with civic initiatives & liability NL?
• Exchange knowledge between DIY NL and beyond?
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More information
• Mark Verhijde | [email protected] | www.markverhijde.nl | +31 652653005 |
• Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations | http://www.government.nl/ministries/bzk | Coen Boot | [email protected] |
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