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Netherlands: "State security" no excuse

01 July 1994

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On 16 June 1994, the Raad van State (Council of State, the highest court of appeal in administrative cases) ruled that a blanket "state security" claim by the Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst (BVD, the Dutch Security Service) does not constitute sufficient grounds to turn down a citizen's requests for access to their files. In a case concerning a man who suspected that he was refused a job because of BVD information about his involvement in the anti-nuclear movement some 15 years ago, the Raad van State decided that the BVD must provide specific arguments on why knowledge of the information would present a danger to the state's interest, especially since it concerns information that can be assumed to be outdated.

Furthermore, the Raad, referring to a recent ruling by the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, stated that the present Dutch Law on the Intelligence and Security Services does not provide adequate guarantees for privacy protection.

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