CIVIC INITIATIVES VS. LEGAL ISSUES IN THE NETHERLANDS AND BEYOND - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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

• f 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

• ther 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
• p Stelten
• Various permits
• Safety regulations

due to large crowd

• High risk event
• Professional

handling and

• rganization

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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

• ther 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 | mark.verhijde@gmail.com |

www.markverhijde.nl | +31 652653005 |

• Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

| http://www.government.nl/ministries/bzk | Coen Boot | Coen.Boot@minbzk.nl |

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