Sending notice of default for late decision by electronic means: is that allowed?📧

If an administrative body does not comply with the statutory decision period, and thus does not make a decision on time, a citizen or company can object. An appeal for failure to decide on time can then be lodged with the court. The court must then assess whether the administrative body must pay damages to the citizen and, more importantly, also set a deadline for the decision to be made. 

Before such an action for failure to decide on time can be brought, the administrative body must first be given notice of default. This means that the citizen must inform the administrative body that the decision was taken too late and demand that the administrative body still take a decision within a reasonable period (usually two weeks). If the citizen fails to do so, the appeal for failure to decide on time will have no chance of success. 

By law (Section 6:12(2) opening words and under b of the Awb), such a notice of default must, in principle, be sent by post. The question raised in the judgment discussed in this blog is whether it is also sufficient to file the notice of default electronically. 

In its ruling of 18 December 2024, the Division ruled as follows. Although, in principle, a notice of default must be submitted by post, this can also be done electronically, such as by e-mail. Article 2:15 (1) of the Awb does impose the condition that the administrative body must have made this electronic way available. By open up, the Division means that the administrative body must have opened up the electronic way for the application. Therefore, if the electronic way is open to an application, it is also open to a notice of default for not deciding on the application in time. 

What does this mean in practice? If you notice that the administrative body has exceeded the decision period and you want to take action against this, you should know well what steps to take. In principle, you should start by sending a notice of default. Only then can you lodge an appeal for late decisions with the court. 

Do you have questions about a notice of default or an appeal for failure to decide on time? If so, please contact Gerard van der Wende or with Fleur Huisman. 

You can find the link to the ruling here.