Assisting clients facing administrative and criminal penalties

A fine, now what?

We provide legal assistance to clients facing fines and other penalties. A fine or other penalty is issued to punish an offence under either criminal law or administrative law. There are major differences between these two penalty systems.

In Dutch criminal law, either a court or public prosecutor may impose a fine for any criminal offence. The public prosecutor may dispose of the case out of court (buitengerechtelijke afdoening), including by issuing a penal order (strafbeschikking) or a fine in lieu of prosecution (transactie).

In the Netherlands, an administrative fine is a fine imposed by the government without the intervention of the court or the public prosecutor. Criminal law aspects can also play a role.

Trusted advisor

For this reason, an integrated understanding of administrative law and criminal law is essential when dealing with a fine. We help our clients both during the investigation after the fine has been imposed.

In the event of an impending fine, it is important to clarify your legal position as early as possible, both internally and externally.

We pride ourselves on being a good “sparring partner” for our clients. This means having a collaborative relationship with someone who tests your reasoning, plays out different scenarios and helps you strengthen your strategy. We assist our clients in their contacts with various Dutch government bodies and enforcement authorities, including the police, the tax department’s financial and economic crime investigators (FIOD), the labour inspectors (NLA), food and consumer products authorities (NVWA), health inspectors (IGJ), the environmental and transport inspectors (ILT) and financial supervisors (BFT).