How citizens fight against the government: an unfair fight by citizens against the government - NPO podcast: 'In a fight with the government'

January 13, 2022

How is our country governed? Citizens end up before the Council of State after a conflict with a municipality, water board or with another government institution. The judges are on the side of the government and are often former administrators. For allowance parents who objected to their wrongful reimbursement of benefits received and then went to administrative judges, lost their lawsuit while all documents were clearly right. After that, the same thing also happened at the Council of State. The person behind the legal question is forgotten. The government has far more resources to win a lawsuit. As a citizen, you are alone in the face of a powerful government, which uses an infinite amount of money to hire the most expensive lawyers and has a long way. Law is not law. The remedies are being used in an unfair way. Logically, this causes a lot of frustration.

What can you achieve at the Council of State? Many people think that the Council of State is about content. She only checks whether a decision has been made on the right grounds and has been made on the basis of laws and regulations. This leads to a lot of frustration among people, because they only look at rules. (Editor's note Paula: Personally, I also have experience with this. The municipality knows the game very well and knows that judges are up to them. False documents are submitted, you have a few minutes of speaking time as a citizen and the municipality often has the benefit of the doubt).

It is very difficult for government agencies to admit mistakes. Egos play a role. Loss of vision must be prevented at all costs. And paying out the resulting damage is completely out of the question. Many expensive lawyers are deployed to brush up on the government's injustice and a path is being taken to cover up errors. The government is doing everything in its power. It is a legal arena. If you have already indicated that you are wrong, act accordingly. In the case of the benefits affair, the treatment was disproportionate.

The Day - Listen #1013 - The unfair fight between citizens and government | Podcasts | NPO Radio 1