Sturing in de ruimtelijke ordening door Rijk en provincies: Een juridisch onderzoek naar sturingsinstrumenten van Rijk en provincies en hun verenigbaarheid met de gedecentraliseerde bevoegdheidsverdeling in het ruimtelijk bestuursrecht

The tension between centralization and decentralization in spatial planning is a well-covered topic in Dutch legal literature. The subject is certainly not exhausted though. The vertical division of powers is continuously subject to change. Important in this respect is the planned integration of all laws and regulations regarding the physical environment into one encompassing Environmental Act (the “Omgevingswet”). In addition to this, the recent legislative review of inter-administrative supervision must be mentioned.

In this dissertation the vertical division of powers is studied from the broad perspective of spatial ‘steering’. This term refers to the spatial decision-making at the national and provincial level, as well as the top-down influencing of spatial decision-making at the local level. The research first identifies which national and provincial administrative powers under current and future law can be used as spatial steering instruments. The tension between centralization and decentralization is then studied by means of a normative framework. This is developed by formulating criteria based on the rule of speciality and the principle of decentralization. Current and future law are tested against these criteria, to determine if the national and provincial steering instruments are compatible with a decentralized system of spatial planning law.