• Psychological support
• Study related legal support
  • Complaints Service Point (CSP)
  • Decisions regarding examinations and study progressm
  • University decisions
  • Complaints
  • Example of a Notice of Appeal
  • The Penalty Payment and Appeal (Overdue Decisions) Act
  • Cancellation arrangement individual guidance
• Faculty study support
• Studying with a disability
• Career Services
• Pastoral guidance
• Useful links

The Penalty Payment and Appeal (Overdue Decisions) Act

Have you submitted a request or a notice of objection to Maastricht University and not received a decision on time? If so, the “Penalty Payment and Appeal (Overdue Decisions) Act” [Dutch: Wet dwangsom en beroep bij niet tijdig beslissen] provides two tools, namely: an incremental penalty scheme and an appeals procedure (having entered into force on 1 October 2009).

Examples of a request:

• A request for allocation of administrative months
• A request for working hours or application of the CLA options model to be amended.

 

The procedure is summarised as follows:

1. You have submitted a request or notice of objection
2. The period within which a decision should be made has elapsed without a decision being made
3. As the party who has made the request or submitted the notice of objection, you give notice of default in writing to the body to which you made the request or filed the notice of objection
4. A further two weeks elapse without a decision being made
5. The incremental penalty begins automatically
6. And you can directly lodge your appeal
7. If you lodged your appeal immediately and the court upholds the appeal, the administrative body must make a decision within two weeks.

What constitutes an overdue decision?

A responsible body is deemed to have not made a decision on time if it exceeds the period in which a decision must be made. This may be a statutory period of time: it is sometimes the case that the period in which a decision must be made is stipulated by law. If a statutory period does not exist, a period that is deemed reasonable applies. As a rule, in the absence of a statutory period (in which to make a decision), a reasonable period of time is eight weeks. The basic assumption is that such a period of time is no longer than necessary to make a thoroughly-considered decision.

Deferment of the period in which a decision must be made

It not only serves your own interests but also the general interest that an administrative body makes a well-considered decision with regard to your request or your notice of objection. It may therefore be necessary that the responsible administrative body is granted more time in order to make a decision.

Generally, this may be the case if the administrative body already foresees that it will not be able to make a decision within the period given for this purpose and notifies you that the period in which a decision must be made will be suspended. In a number of cases, the period in which to make a decision may be deferred further, for example if the administrative body must await additional information from you or from a different country, or if the administrative body receives such a large volume of information from you that it is not possible to make a decision within the period given for this purpose.

This may also be the case if you agree in writing to the deferment of the original period in which a decision must be made. The General Administrative Law Act also stipulates the manner in which the administrative body must inform you with regard to the deferment of this period.

Which options are offered under the Act?

Has the statutory period or a period that is deemed reasonable still been exceeded without the responsible body having made a decision with regard to your request or your objection? If so, you may send a letter to the administrative body to which you submitted the request or notice of objection, in which you can demand an incremental penalty payment. You may download a template letter (only available in dutch) for this purpose. This letter can be used to give the administrative body a notice of default.

The address is:

Maastricht University, SSC
Attn Complaints Service Point
P.O. Box 616,
6200 MD Maastricht

The administrative body then has a further two weeks in which to make a decision. If it fails to do so, the consequences under the Act are twofold:

1. The incremental penalty automatically begins to run (incremental penalty payment scheme). If you have given the administrative body notice of default and a decision has still not been made two weeks later, you are then entitled to an incremental penalty payment for every day by which the period in which to make a decision is exceeded. The incremental penalty begins at a rate of €20 per day (for the first fourteen days), which subsequently rises to €30 per day (for the next fourteen days) and amounts to €40 per day for the last fourteen days. The incremental penalty shall be in force for no more than 42 days up to a maximum sum of €1260.
2. You are entitled to lodge an appeal directly with the court (appeals procedure). You do not need to give notice of objection first, (to the fact that the body has failed to make a decision). If the court upholds the appeal, the administrative body is still obliged to make a decision within two weeks.

Do you have any further questions? Students can send any queries to complaintsservice@maastrichtuniversity.nl