The Supreme Court ruled in a judgment of 6 September 2024 that there is a right to legal assistance from a lawyer during a questioning aimed at imposing an administrative fine. This right to legal assistance during a questioning was already clear for criminal law, but also applies to administrative fines.

This right to legal assistance is one of the fundamental characteristics of a fair trial. If a party is not properly informed about this right, this leads to a failure on the part of the government, which in principle cannot be justified. A party, such as a director of a company, must therefore not only be given the caution – a warning that he or she is not obliged to answer – before a questioning situation arises, but must also be made aware of the right to legal assistance. This also applies to the IND and the Dutch Labour Inspectorate for fines imposed on the basis of the Aliens Act (Vw) and the Aliens Employment Act (Wav). However, practice shows that this has usually not happened in the past. If this has not happened, it must be assessed whether there is still a fair trial and the statement in question can be excluded from the evidence. This may in turn have consequences for the imposition of the fine or for the reduction of the fine.

Scheers Advocatuur can assist you not only if the IND or Dutch Labour Inspectorate has imposed an administrative fine, but also in the process before that, including by being present at a questioning. If the questioning has already taken place, but this right to assistance has not been pointed out, Scheers Advocatuur can assess the consequences thereof and bring this forward in a legal remedy. For advice in your specific situation you can contact Scheers Advocatuur.