TY - JOUR
T1 - Repressive administrative law
T2 - assessing culpability in Dutch social security regulation
AU - Tollenaar, Albertjan
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - With the introduction of strict obligations and sanctions in social security, the traditional boundary between criminal law and administrative law seems to fade away. Administrative fines in particular facilitate strict, efficient and effective law enforcement. In spite of the fact that administrative fines are part of administrative law, criminal law safeguards are still applicable. This could cause problems, since administrative authorities and administrative judges are not necessarily familiar with these criminal law principles. This article addresses the question of how administrative authorities and administrative judges assess culpability when deciding on administrative fines in the Netherlands. The main finding is that administrative authorities, and especially municipalities, overestimate the degree of culpability. The case shows that, in the search for more repressive instruments, it is imperative to allow courts to keep an eye on the proportionality of the sanctions.
AB - With the introduction of strict obligations and sanctions in social security, the traditional boundary between criminal law and administrative law seems to fade away. Administrative fines in particular facilitate strict, efficient and effective law enforcement. In spite of the fact that administrative fines are part of administrative law, criminal law safeguards are still applicable. This could cause problems, since administrative authorities and administrative judges are not necessarily familiar with these criminal law principles. This article addresses the question of how administrative authorities and administrative judges assess culpability when deciding on administrative fines in the Netherlands. The main finding is that administrative authorities, and especially municipalities, overestimate the degree of culpability. The case shows that, in the search for more repressive instruments, it is imperative to allow courts to keep an eye on the proportionality of the sanctions.
KW - Court procedures
KW - administrative law
KW - law enforcement
KW - fines
KW - penalties
U2 - 10.1177/1388262718761392
DO - 10.1177/1388262718761392
M3 - Article
SN - 2399-2948
VL - 20
SP - 21
EP - 30
JO - European Journal of Social Security
JF - European Journal of Social Security
IS - 1
ER -