Law changes affecting safety and security in the Netherlands in 2024

Every year, the Netherlands implements several new and modified laws and regulations on January 1. Earlier, NL Times published an article about the laws most likely to hit people in the pocketbook. Additionally, at least seven laws will affect the safety and security of people living in the Netherlands.

Below follows a list of those law changes taking effect at the start of 2024, as summarized by the Ministry of Justice and Security. Politicians in The Hague have not yet finished their jobs for the year. The Eerste Kamer leaves on recess for the winter holiday on Wednesday, while the Tweede Kamer starts its winter recess on Friday.

Doxing

Doxing, defined as the deliberate distribution of someone's personal information for intimidation, will become a criminal offense. Doxing often targets journalists, politicians, judges, police officers, or emergency responders and can include sharing someone’s address or phone number. The new law will apply to doxing of individuals irrespective of their profession.

Animal abuse

Measures against animal abuse and neglect will be intensified. This includes broader authority to shut down businesses where animal welfare is at risk and to impose bans on keeping animals. Additionally, the legal maximum sentence for animal abuse and neglect will be raised to five years.

Combined surname

Children can be given both their fathers' and mother's last names. This option is also available for the eldest child in a family born after January 1, 2016. If the parents do not choose, the child will inherit the mother's last name if the parents are unmarried or are not registered partners. If the parents are married or registered partners, the child will receive the father's last name.

Closing homes in cases of serious violence

Mayors will have increased power to close residences in cases of serious violence, such as shootings or explosions, to uphold public order. While they previously had the authority to shut down homes for resident misconduct, this was sometimes insufficient. Now, mayors can also close properties when public order is notably disturbed or threatened. They can also terminate rental agreements without court involvement and expropriate properties closed to maintain public order.

Disadvantage compensation

The right to disadvantage compensation will be officially recognized in the General Administrative Law Act. This compensation is for disproportionate harm caused by lawful government actions. Typically, citizens and entrepreneurs must bear the cost of damage from such government work. However, if certain individuals or businesses are disproportionately affected, they will receive compensation for the additional damage.

Court fees

Court fees will be lowered by 13.5 percent. These fees are the costs individuals incur to bring a case to court or defend themselves before a judge. A total budget of 27 million euros has been allocated for this reduction.

Statutory interest rate

The statutory interest rate will increase from 6 percent to 7 percent. This means that citizens with outstanding debts will face a higher interest rate if they cannot pay off their debts. The statutory interest also forms part of the maximum credit charge for borrowing money, overdrafts, and installment purchases. Therefore, with the increase in the statutory interest rate, the cap on credit compensation will rise to 15 percent.

Prison sentences for hard drug crimes

The outgoing Cabinet also submitted a bill to the Tweede Kamer in December calling for an increase in maximum prison sentences for people convicted of certain drug-related offenses. Sentences for importing or exporting hard drugs could rise from a maximum of 12 years to 16 years if the bill passes Parliament. Trading and producing hard drugs could see a maximum prison term rise from 8 years to 12 years. Suspects convicted of either possession of hard drugs, or the commission of a preparatory act for the purpose of carrying out a crime related to hard drugs, could wind up in prison for 8 years, up from 6 years.