Hof Den Haag
An English translation of the press release from the Court of Appeals of The Hague
Appeals Court of The Hague imposes ban on evicting squatters
The Hague, 8 November 2010 - On 8 November 2010, the court of appeals in The Hague orally issued a judgment in a higher appeal as to the question of whether the Ministry of Security and Justice can proceed to evict various squatted buildings in Amsterdam, The Hague and Leeuwarden. The court prohibited the eviction because in the new Act on Squatting and Vacancy, no possibility was created for squatters (who are in danger of losing their home) to first have the eviction reviewed by a court. This is a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Since 1 October 2010, the Act on Squatting and Vacancy is in effect. This statute makes squatting a punishable offense. The law gives the authorities the possibility of evicting a squatted building as a matter of criminal law, without the necessity of a court order. After a number of municipalities had indicated that they would proceed to evict squatted buildings, various applications for a temporary injunction were filed concerning the scope of the new law.
In the case at hand, squatters demanded that the eviction of various squatted buildings in Amsterdam, The Hague and Leeuwarden be prohibited. The provisional judge in first instance rejected their claim. The court is currently considering the case in higher appeal. Because the first round of evictions was planned for tomorrow, the court issued its decision orally today. A written decision with the reasons provided will become available sometime next week.
The court prohibited the eviction. It ruled that the squatters are in danger of losing their home with the eviction. A person's home enjoys special protection under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly ruled that someone may not lose his home before a court has first had a chance to rule on it. Since no arrangement was made for this in the new law, and since the prosecuting authorities have also not established a clear, published policy in this regard, the court is of the opinion that eviction under these circumstances would be in violation of the ECHR.
Source: Appeals Court of The Hague (
http://www.rechtspraak.nl/Actualiteiten/Gerechtshof+Den+Haag+legt+verbod+ontruiming+krakers+op.htm) Current date: 8 November 2010
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