RvS - 201907720/1/A3: Difference between revisions

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|Party_Link_5=
|Party_Link_5=


|Appeal_From_Body=District Court of Noord-Holland
|Appeal_From_Body=Rb. Noord-Holland (Netherlands)
|Appeal_From_Case_Number_Name=18/817
|Appeal_From_Case_Number_Name=18/817
|Appeal_From_Status=
|Appeal_From_Status=
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The establishment of the data subject's identity must be sound, but may not be so impeding that it affects the right of the data subject to freely request access to his data.  
The Dutch Council of State (RvS) held that in certain instances where a data subject's identity is in dispute, such as when there is a mismatch in signature, a data controller is entitled to request further proof of identity before fulfilling an access request. The Council of State reaffirmed that such an additional request must not be so demanding so as to impede on the GDPR right.  


In this decision, this was not considered to be the case. The data controller had valid reasons to have doubts as to the identity of the applicant, and was therefore entitled to ask for additional information or to impose additional requirements.
In this decision, this was not considered to be the case. The data controller had valid reasons to have doubts as to the identity of the applicant, and was therefore entitled to ask for additional information or to impose additional requirements.
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===Facts===
===Facts===
The Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk (which exercises the executive power of the municipal government) declined the request of the appellant to access his personal data. The data subject attached a copy of an expired passport to this request, but the Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk announced that it was unable to establish the applicant's identity properly with an expired passport. It therefore requested the appellant to send a certified copy of a valid identity document (i.e.  copy of an original document that has been authorised or stamped as being a true copy of the original, by a
The Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk (which exercises the executive power of the municipal government) declined the request of the appellant to access his personal data. The data subject attached a copy of an expired passport to this request, but the Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk announced that it was unable to establish the applicant's identity properly with an expired passport. It therefore requested the appellant to send a certified copy of a valid identity document (i.e.  copy of an original document that has been authorised or stamped as being a true copy of the original, by a qualified individual) or to visit the town hall in person. The appellant then sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanations.
qualified individual) or to visit the town hall in person. The appellant then sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanations.


The Council however decided not to consider the request. It took the view that it was not possible to properly establish the identity of the applicant with the information at its disposal. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, it had emerged from the administration that the signature on the request and on the passport did not match the signature on previously submitted requests by a person with the same name who lives at the same address. According to the Council, it was therefore necessary to establish the identity of the applicant by means of one of the two options offered (certified copy or visit at the town hall).
The Council however decided not to consider the request. It took the view that it was not possible to properly establish the identity of the applicant with the information at its disposal. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, it had emerged from the administration that the signature on the request and on the passport did not match the signature on previously submitted requests by a person with the same name who lives at the same address. According to the Council, it was therefore necessary to establish the identity of the applicant by means of one of the two options offered (certified copy or visit at the town hall).
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==Comment==
==Comment==
On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision from the Council of Mayor and Aldermen is from before that date. Therefore, the Dutch Personal Data Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens) still applied to this case.
On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision from the Council is from before that date. Therefore, the Dutch Personal Data Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens) still applied to this case.


This decision should be compared to: [[RvS - ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2915]]
This decision should be compared to: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2915&showbutton=true&keyword=AVG


==Further Resources==
==Further Resources==
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<pre>
<pre>
<!doctype html><html lang="nl"><head id="Head1" runat="server" profile="http://www.w3.org/2005/10/profile"><meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin" /><title> ECLI: NL: RVS: 2020: 2833, Council of State, 201907720/1 / A3 </title><meta charset="utf-8"><meta http-equiv="x-ua-compatible" content="ie=edge"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/ico" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/favicon.ico" /><link rel="icon" type="image/ico" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/favicon.ico" /><!-- apple touch iconen--><link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="57x57" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-57x57.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-72x72.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="76x76" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-76x76.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-114x114.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="120x120" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="144x144" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-144x144.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="152x152" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-152x152.png" /><link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/apple-touch-iconen/apple-touch-icon-180x180.png" /><!-- android icoon --><link rel="icon" sizes="192x192" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/android-icon-192x192.png"><!-- Bootstrap --><link type="text/css" rel="Stylesheet" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?css/bootstrap/bootstrap-3.3.6.custom.min.css" /><!-- Rechtspraak --><link type="text/css" rel="Stylesheet" href="/SharedWebResources.axd?css/rechtspraak/rechtspraak.sjablonen.custom.min.css" /><script src="/SharedWebResources.axd?js/jquery/jquery-1.11.0.min.js"></script><!-- bs dropdown via javascript --><script>
201907720/1/A3.
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Date of judgment: 9 December 2020
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Judgment on the appeals of:
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1.    [appellant under 1], residing at [place of residence],
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2. the Municipal Executive of Heemskerk,
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appellants,
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against the judgment of the District Court of North Holland of 12 September 2019 in Case No 18/817 in the interlocutory proceedings:
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[appellant under 1]
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and
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the college.
            </script><meta property="dcterms:identifier" content="ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833" datatype="xsd:anyURI" /><meta property="dcterms:title" content="ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833, Raad van State, 201907720/1/A3" /><meta property="dcterms:issued" content="2020-12-09" datatype="xsd:date" /><link rel="dcterms:publisher" /><link rel="dcterms:type" href="http://psi.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak" title="Statement" /><meta property="dcterms:language" content="nl" datatype="xsd:language" /><meta property="dcterms:creator" content="&lt;span&gt;Raad van State&lt;/span&gt;" scheme="overheid.RechterlijkeMacht" resourceidentifier="http://standaarden.overheid.nl/owms/terms/Raad_van_State" /><meta property="dcterms:modified" content="2020-12-09" datatype="xsd:date" /><meta property="dcterms:abstract" content="&lt;inhoudsindicatie xmlns=&quot;http://www.rechtspraak.nl/schema/rechtspraak-1.0&quot; id=&quot;ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833:INH&quot; lang=&quot;nl&quot; xml:space=&quot;preserve&quot;&gt;&lt;para&gt;Bij besluit van 19 september 2017 heeft het college van burgemeester en wethouders van Heemskerk het verzoek van [appellant sub 1] om inzage in zijn persoonsgegevens buiten behandeling gesteld. [appellant sub 1] heeft op 30 juli 2017 verzocht om inzage in de verwerking van zijn persoonsgegevens als bedoeld in artikel 35 van de Wbp. Volgens [appellant sub 1] zijn zijn persoonsgegevens onder meer verwerkt voor een eerder ingediend verzoek op grond van de Wet openbaarheid van bestuur. Hij heeft ook verzocht om, voor zover het college zijn persoonsgegevens heeft verwerkt door berichten te plaatsen op het forum van de Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten (hierna: VNG), de inhoud van deze berichten op te nemen in het overzicht. 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By decision of 19 September 2017, the Board rejected the request by [appellant under 1] for access to his personal data.
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By decision of 18 January 2018, the Board dismissed [appellant sub 1]'s objection to that request as unfounded.
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By decision of 13 February 2018, the Board decided that no penalty payment had been forfeited on account of the failure to decide on the objection in good time.
</div --><div class="toolbar"></div><!-- END HEADER --><div class="rs-main-contentarea" id="mainContent" data-target=".rs-main-contentarea"> <a class="rnl-button rnl-pagefeedbackform-button no-print" onclick="navigaToFeedbackForm();" href="javascript:undefined"><span>Feedback</span></a> <div class="rnl-content rnl-content-main"><div class="rnl-header-image-container"><div class="rnl-image-gradient"></div><img src="/SharedWebResources.axd?images/uitspraken-header-image-comp.jpg" alt="" /></div><div class="container"><div class="page-header rnl-page-header rnl-page-header-image"><div class="row"><div id="header" class="col-md-8"><h1> Pronunciations </h1></div></div><!--/.row --></div></div><div class="container"><div class="row"><div class="col-md-12"><div class="rs-panel zoektermen-wrapper"><div class="rs-panel-heading no-print"><h2> <a class="rs-accordion-title" data-toggle="collapse" href="#zoektermen" role="button" aria-expanded="true" aria-controls="zoektermen">Search terms found<span class="rs-collapse-icon-down"></span></a></h2></div><div class="row"><div class="col-md-12"> <label for="showhighlights" id="showhighlightslabel" class="label-highlights pull-left highlights-background"><input type="checkbox" id="showhighlights" name="showhighlights" checked><span id="markeringen-toggle-tekst">Turn markers off</span></label> </div></div><div class="collapse in rs-panel-body gevondenZoektermen no-print" id="zoektermen"><!-- --></div></div></div></div><div class="row opnieuw-zoeken-buttons"><div class="col-md-4"> <a href="/" class="rs-btn rs-btn-secondary search-btn-uitspraken" onclick="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'opnieuw-zoeken']);">Search again</a></div><div class="col-md-4"> <a href="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'terug-naar-resultaten']);history.back();" class="rs-btn rs-btn-primary search-btn-uitspraken">Back to the results</a></div></div><div class="row nieuwe-zoekopdracht-button"><div class="col-md-4"> <a href="/" class="rs-btn rs-btn-primary search-btn-uitspraken">New search</a> </div></div><div id="alert-region"><!-- --></div><div class="row"><div id="content" class="col-md-12"><div id="Main" class="rs-panel"><div class="rs-panel-heading rs-heading-inline"><h1 id="ZoekresultaatTekst" class="structural"> Search result - view document</h1><h2 class="left"> ECLI: NL: RVS: 2020: 2833</h2><div class="btn-group rs-share rs-hide-mobile no-print"> <button class="rs-btn-secondary rs-btn dropdown-toggle" type="button" id="dropdownMenu1" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="true">Share pronunciation<span class="tri-down"></span></button><ul class="dropdown-menu rs-dropdown" aria-labelledby="dropdownMenu1"><li> <a href="javascript:window.print()" id="linkToPrint" class="printUitspraak" title="Print the document" onclick="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'printen']);"><span>Print</span></a></li><li> <a class="pdfUitspraak no-print" href="/InzienDocument/GetPdf?ecli=ECLI%3ANL%3ARVS%3A2020%3A2833" onclick="javascript:_paq.push([&#39;trackEvent&#39;,&#39;uitspraken-pagina&#39;, &#39;button&#39;, &#39;download-pdf&#39;]);">Save as PDF</a></li><li> <a href="javascript:undefined" id="copyUitspraak" class="no-print" data-clipboard-text="http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833" title="Copy link to statement" onclick="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'kopieer']);"><span>Copy link</span></a></li></ul></div><div class="rs-copied-to-clipboard" id="clipboardInfo" style="display: none;"> Link copied to clipboard</div></div><div class="rs-panel-body"><dl class="dl-horizontal"><dt> Authority</dt><dd> <span>Council of State</span></dd><dt> Date of judgment</dt><dd> 09-12-2020</dd><dt> Date of publication</dt><dd> 09-12-2020</dd><dt> Case number</dt><dd> <span>201907720/1 / A3</span><br /></dd><dt> Jurisdictions</dt><dd> <span>Administrative law</span><br /></dd><dt> Special characteristics</dt><dd> <span>Appeal</span><br /></dd><dt> Content indication</dt><dd><div class="inhoudsindicatie"><p> By decision of 19 September 2017, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk set aside the request of [appellant sub 1] for access to his personal data. On 30 July 2017, [appellant sub 1] requested access to the processing of his personal data as referred to in Article 35 of the Wbp. According to [appellant sub 1], his personal data have been processed, among other things, for a previously submitted request on the basis of the Government Information (Public Access) Act. He has also requested, insofar as the Commission has processed his personal data by posting messages on the forum of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (hereinafter: VNG), to include the content of these messages in the overview. He has enclosed with this request a copy of an expired passport.</p></div></dd><dt> Locations</dt><dd> <span>Rechtspraak.nl</span><br /></dd><dt class="no-print"></dt><dd class="no-print"> <a href="https://linkeddata.overheid.nl/document/ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833" id="linkToKoop" class="koopUitspraak" title="Enriched pronunciation"><span class="no-print">Enriched pronunciation</span></a></dd></dl><div class="btn-group rs-share rs-hide-desktop no-print"> <button class="rs-btn-secondary rs-btn dropdown-toggle" type="button" id="dropdownMenu1" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="true">Share pronunciation<span class="tri-down"></span></button><ul class="dropdown-menu rs-dropdown" aria-labelledby="dropdownMenu1"><li> <a href="javascript:printUitspraak()" id="linkToPrint" class="printUitspraak" title="Print the document" onclick="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'printen']);"><span>Print</span></a></li><li> <a class="pdfUitspraak no-print" href="/InzienDocument/GetPdf?ecli=ECLI%3ANL%3ARVS%3A2020%3A2833" onclick="javascript:_paq.push([&#39;trackEvent&#39;,&#39;uitspraken-pagina&#39;, &#39;button&#39;, &#39;download-pdf&#39;]);">Save as PDF</a></li><li> <a href="javascript:undefined" id="copyUitspraak" class="no-print" data-clipboard-text="http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833" title="Copy link to statement" onclick="javascript:_paq.push(['trackEvent','uitspraken-pagina', 'button', 'kopieer']);"><span>Copy link</span></a></li></ul></div><div class="uitspraakH3"><h3> Statement</h3></div><div><div class="uitspraak"><div class="parablock"><p> 201907720/1 / A3.</p><p> Date of judgment: 9 December 2020</p><p> SECTION</p><p> ADMINISTRATIVE LAW</p><p> Judgment on the appeals of:</p><p> 1. [appellant sub 1], residing in [place of residence],</p><p> 2.the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk,</p><p> appellants,</p><p> against the decision of the Noord-Holland District Court of 12 September 2019 in case no.18 / 817 in the proceedings between:</p><p> [appellant sub 1]</p><p> and</p><p> the lecture.</p><p> Process course</p><p> By decision of 19 September 2017, the Board has not considered the request of [appellant sub 1] for access to his personal data.</p><p> By decision of 18 January 2018, the Board declared the objection made by [appellant under 1] to this unfounded.</p><p> In a decision of 13 February 2018, the Board decided that no penalty payment was forfeited because of failure to make a timely decision on the objection.</p><p> By judgment of 12 September 2019, the court declared the appeal lodged by [appellant under 1] against the decision of 18 January 2018 unfounded and declared the appeal against the decision of 13 February 2018 to be well-founded, quashed that decision and forfeited the penalty is set at € 520. This statement is attached.</p><p> [Appellant 1] has lodged an appeal against this decision.</p><p> The Board has given a written statement and has lodged a cross-appeal.</p><p> The Division heard the case in court on 3 August 2020, where [appellant 1], assisted by [attorney], legal aid provider, and the Board, represented by mr. CN van der Sluis, attorney in Rotterdam, appeared.</p><p> Considerations</p><p> Applicable law</p><p> 1. On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision on the objection is from before that date. That is why the Wbp still applies to this case. For the text of the relevant provisions of the Wbp and the General Administrative Law Act (hereinafter: the Awb), reference is made to the appendix, which forms part of the decision.</p><p> Decision</p><p> 2. On 30 July 2017, [appellant sub 1] requested access to the processing of his personal data as referred to in Article 35 of the Wbp. According to [appellant sub 1], his personal data were processed for, among other things, a previously submitted request on the basis of the Government Information (hereinafter: the Wob). He has also requested, insofar as the Commission has processed his personal data by posting messages on the forum of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (hereinafter: VNG), to include the content of these messages in the overview. He has enclosed with this request a copy of an expired passport.</p><p> 2.1. On August 7, 2017, the Board announced that it cannot properly establish the identity of the applicant with an expired passport. It has requested [appellant sub 1] to send a certified or authorized copy of a valid proof of identity or to come to the town hall in person. [appellant under 1] thereupon sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanation.</p><p> 2.2. By decision of September 19, 2017, the Board has not considered the request. Pursuant to Article 37, second paragraph, of the Wbp, it is required to properly establish the identity of the applicant in an application. The Commission has taken the position that this was not possible with the information it had available. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, the records had shown that a person with the same name as [appellant sub 1] had previously sent letters to the Board, but that the signature on those letters did not match the signature on the request for access. . In view of this, according to the Commission, it was necessary to establish identity with one of the two options offered. The Board upheld the decision in the objection.</p><p> Attacked verdict</p><p> 3. On appeal, the Board has taken the position that [appellant under 1] is abusing the right, because [appellant under 1] made the request for inspection with the aim of collecting penalties and obtaining legal costs reimbursements. The court has ruled that there is insufficient ground for the conclusion that [appellant sub 1] submitted the Wbp request for a purpose other than that for which this authority was granted. The court also ruled that the Board could reasonably ask for a certified or authorized copy of an identity document to be sent or to visit the town hall. Now that [appellant sub 1] has failed to do so, the Board was allowed to set aside his request, according to the court.</p><p> Appeal of the college</p><p> 4. The incidental appeal of the Board is the most far-reaching. Therefore this will be assessed first. The Board argues that the court has wrongly ruled that [appellant sub 1] is not abusing the law. There are several aspects that, viewed in conjunction, must lead to the judgment that there has been an abuse of rights. For example, there is a consistent course of action by [appellant sub 1] and [attorney]. In the past, [appellant sub 1] has submitted Wob requests in almost all municipalities. Many proceedings have been conducted in this regard, which ultimately led to rulings by the Division in which it was ruled that [appellant sub 1] abused the rights with those requests. Now [appellant sub 1] has submitted a Wbp request to almost all municipalities. In addition, various aspects show that [appellant sub 1] and [attorney]] have a financial motive. For example, in a similar case, [attorney] approached the Board to buy off proceedings, an appeal was made for compensation for breach of the reasonable term and the appeal is a virtually literal repetition of the notice of appeal, which indicates a minimal effort. Failure to appear at a hearing also indicates this. The financial interests of [appellant sub 1] and [attorney] also appear from the no-cure-no-pay practice of [person]. Finally, there is another way for [appellant 1] to obtain the personal data that have been processed on the forum of the VNG. He had started proceedings against the VNG to view this data and could have continued that procedure. There was also the option of submitting a new Wbp request, according to the Commission.</p><p> 4.1. In the judgment of 23 January 2019, ECLI: NL: RVS: 2019: 184, the Department ruled that the Wob and the Wbp relate to different matters. This means that the judgment that an abuse of law has been made with regard to the Wob does not automatically mean that there is also abuse with regard to the Wbp. One of the purposes of the Wbp is to provide citizens with insight into the way in which administrative bodies, among others, process their personal data. In the judgment of 21 August 2019, ECLI: NL: RVS: 2019: 2797, which concerns a comparable case of [appellant sub 1], the Division has ruled that there are insufficient leads for the opinion that [appellant sub 1] submitting the request for access and the use of legal remedies had abused the law. The circumstance that the authorized representative of [appellant sub 1] has previously been declared inadmissible in the context of Wob proceedings, that [appellant sub 1] has submitted requests for inspection to various municipalities, that many proceedings are pending, that [appellant sub 1] ] keeps a close eye on the decision period and if that period is exceeded after notice of default requests the determination of penalties and requests compensation, it was considered insufficient to conclude that [appellant sub 1] did not intend to take cognizance of the personal data processed about him. , but only tried to collect sums of money from the government.</p><p> 4.2. Contrary to the judgment of 21 August 2019, the Division sees no reason to rule that [appellant sub 1] has misused the authority to submit requests for inspection. Finding out which municipalities have posted personal data of the applicant on the VNG forum is in line with the purpose of the Wbp. As [appellant 1] explained at the hearing, the VNG has removed everything from him from the forum. A request for access to the VNG therefore makes no sense. He hopes that the college has taken screenshots of the forum or can find out in some other way what was posted on the forum. If the board has unlawfully processed his personal data, it will request compensation. The possibility exists under the <span class="hl0">GDPR</span> . The fact that this is the underlying purpose of this request, and also of the other access requests that he has submitted, does not mean that the purpose of the request is no longer in accordance with the purpose of the Wbp. The Division also sees no reason to reach a different conclusion in the other arguments. This is because the arguments almost correspond to what was submitted in the case that led to the judgment of 21 August 2019.</p><p> 4.3. The argument fails.</p><p> Appeal of [appellant sub 1]</p><p> 5. [appellant under 1] argues that the court wrongly ruled that the Board was allowed to ask him to send a certified or authorized copy of an identity document or to visit the town hall. With the copy of his proof of identity, the Board was able to properly establish his identity. The signature on the request matches the signature on the passport. The request for inspection was submitted from the address at which he is registered in the basic register of persons, which is an important factor in determining the identity, according to [appellant sub 1].</p><p> 5.1. From the lack of concrete leads in the Wbp, it follows that in principle the Commission has discretion with regard to the way in which it wishes to establish the identity of the applicant. This space is partly determined by the premise that the determination of identity must be sound. On the other hand, by the fact that the determination of identity should not be so obstructive as to prejudice the right of the person concerned to freely apply to the Board with a request for access.</p><p> 5.2. The premise that a copy of an identity document is requested for an inspection request is not considered unreasonable. This guarantees a proper determination of identity without prejudice to the right of those involved to freely apply to the Board. In this case, the Commission noted that the signature on the request and on the passport did not match the signature on previously submitted Wob requests from a person with the same name who lives at the same address. It could therefore reasonably take the position that this has raised doubts about the identity of the applicant and that a copy of the passport alone was not sufficient in this case. According to [appellant under 1], the request for access was submitted from the address with which he is registered in the Personal Records Database and the overview could be sent to that address, the Commission considered insufficient to be able to properly establish the identity. The Commission could request additional information to establish the identity of [appellant under 1]. The court has rightly ruled that the two options given by the Board to [appellant sub 1], the submission of a certified or authorized copy of a valid identity document or a personal visit to the town hall, are not disproportionately onerous in this case. It is true that the distance to the town hall is great for [appellant sub 1], but the alternative of a certified or authorized copy does not entail such high costs that the right to freely request access is undermined.</p><p> 5.3. The argument fails.</p><p> 5.4. [appellant under 1] has also requested compensation for exceeding the reasonable term. He withdrew this request at the hearing and will therefore not be assessed.</p><p> Finally</p><p> 6. The appeals of [appellant 1] and of the Board are unfounded. The verdict of the court should be upheld if attacked.</p><p> 7. The Board must be ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings in a manner to be stated below. Contrary to what he has argued, the fact that [appellant under 1] is more often objected that he has abused the right to submit access requests does not give rise to a heavier weighting factor.</p><p> Decision</p><p> The Administrative Law Division of the Council of State:</p><p> I. confirms the court&#39;s decision, insofar as attacked;</p><p> II. orders the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk to reimburse [appellant 1] in connection with the handling of the appeal to an amount of € 1,184.53 (in words: eleven hundred eighty-four euros and fifty-three cents).</p><p> Thus adopted by mr. CJ Borman, chairman, and mr. SFM Wortmann and mr. J. Gundelach, members, in the presence of mr. P. Klein, registrar.</p><p> The chairman is unable to sign the decision.</p><p> wg Small</p><p> registrar</p><p> Delivered publicly on December 9, 2020</p><p> 176-851.</p><p></p><p> Appendix</p><p></p><p> Law for the protection of personal information</p><p> Article 35</p><p> 1. The data subject has the right to contact the controller freely and at reasonable intervals with a request to inform him whether personal data concerning him is being processed. The controller informs the data subject in writing within four weeks whether personal data relating to him is being processed.</p><p> […].</p><p> Article 37</p><p> 1. […].</p><p> 2. The controller will ensure that the identity of the applicant is properly established.</p><p> […].</p><p> General Administrative Law Act</p><p> Article 4: 5</p><p> 1. The administrative authority may decide not to process the application if:</p><p> a.the applicant has not complied with any legal requirement for processing the application, or</p><p> b. the application has been refused in whole or in part on the basis of Article 2:15, or</p><p> c. the information and documents provided are insufficient for the assessment of the application or for the preparation of the decision,</p><p> provided the applicant has had the opportunity to complete the application within a period set by the administrative authority.</p><p> […]. </p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row no-print"><div id="contentZoneTop" class="col-md-12 no-print"></div></div></div><!--/.row --></div><!--/.container --><!--/.rnl-content --><div class="rnl-content no-print"><div class="container"><div id="contentZoneBottom"></div></div></div><!--/.rnl-content --><div id="rnl-breadcrumb-container"><div class="rnl-content"><div class="container"><ul 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href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/College-van-Beroep-voor-het-bedrijfsleven" title="Board of Appeals for Business" >Board of Appeals for Business</a></li><li class=""> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Raad-van-State" title="Council of State" >Council of State</a></li><li class=""> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Raad-voor-de-rechtspraak" title="Council for the Judiciary" >Council for the Judiciary</a></li><li class=""> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Landelijke-diensten" title="Rural services" >Rural services</a></li><li class=""> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Werken-en-opleiding" title="Work and training" >Work and training</a></li></ul></li></ul></li><li class="dropdown "> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Voor-advocaten-en-juristen" title="Professionals" >Professionals</a></li><li class="dropdown "> <a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Contact" title="Contact" >Contact</a></li><li class="dropdown rs-mijn-zaak"> <a href="https://mijn.rechtspraak.nl" title="Forms and login" >Forms and login</a> </li></ul></div><!--/.nav-collapse --></div><!--/.row --></div><!--/.container --></div><!--/.navbar --><script type="text/javascript">window.NpiSettings = {"DeepLink":"http://deeplink.rechtspraak.nl/uitspraak?id=ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833","Keywords":["avg"]};</script><script type="text/javascript" data-main="/Scripts/main-inziendocument.js" src="/Scripts/libs/require/require.js"></script><script type="text/javascript">
By decision of 12 September 2019, the Court declared the appeal lodged by [appellant sub 1] against the decision of 18 January 2018 unfounded and upheld the appeal lodged against the decision of 13 February 2018, annulled that decision and set the penalty payment forfeited by the Board at € 520. This judgment is attached.
 
The [appellant under 1] has lodged an appeal against that decision.
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The Board made a written statement and lodged an incidental appeal.
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The Division heard the case on 3 August 2020, where [the appellant sub 1], assisted by [the agent], legal aid provider, and the Board of Appeal, represented by C.N. van der Sluis, attorney at law in Rotterdam, appeared.
 
Recitals
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Applicable law
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1.   On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision on objections is from before that date. Therefore, the Wbp still applies to this case. For the text of the relevant provisions of the Wbp and the General Administrative Law Act (hereinafter: the Awb), reference is made to the annex, which forms part of the decision.
                    "Rechtbank Amsterdam": 17,
Decision-making
                    "Rechtbank Den Haag": 19,
2.   On 30 July 2017 [appellant sub 1] requested access to the processing of his personal data as referred to in article 35 of the Wbp. According to [Appellant under 1], his personal data were processed in connection with, among other things, a request submitted previously under the Government Information (Public Access) Act (hereinafter: the Wob). He has also requested that, insofar as the Board has processed his personal data by posting messages on the forum of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (hereinafter: VNG), the content of these messages be included in the overview. He attached a copy of an expired passport to this request.
                    "Rechtbank Gelderland": 21,
2.1.   On 7 August 2017, the Municipal Executive announced that it was unable to establish the applicant's identity properly with an expired passport. It requested [the appellant under 1] to send a certified or authorised copy of a valid identity document or to visit the town hall in person. [appellant sub 1] then sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanation.
                    "Rechtbank Limburg": 23,
2.2.   By decision of 19 September 2017, the Municipal Executive decided not to consider the request. Pursuant to Section 37(2) of the Wbp, it is required to properly establish the identity of the applicant in the case of an application. The Municipal Executive took the view that this was not possible with the information at its disposal. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, it had emerged from the administration that a person with the same name as [appellant under 1] had previously sent letters to the Board, but that the signature on those letters did not match the signature on the application for inspection. In view of this, it was necessary, in the opinion of the Board, to establish the identity by means of one of the two options offered. In its appeal, the College maintained the decision.
                    "Rechtbank Midden-Nederland": 25,
Ruling attacked
                    "Rechtbank Noord-Holland": 27,
3.   On appeal, the College took the view that [the appellant under 1] was misusing his rights, because [the appellant under 1] made the request for inspection with the aim of collecting periodic penalty payments and obtaining reimbursement of legal costs. The court ruled that there is insufficient ground for the conclusion that [appellant sub 1] submitted the request for inspection under the Wbp for a purpose other than that for which it was granted. The court also ruled that the Board could reasonably ask for a certified or authorised copy of an identity document to be sent or for an appointment to be made at the town hall. Now that [the appellant under 1] has failed to do so, the court ruled that the Municipal Executive could disregard its request.
                    "Rechtbank Noord-Nederland": 29,
Appeal by the College
                    "Rechtbank Oost-Brabant": 31,
4.   The incidental appeal of the Board is the most far-reaching. That is why it will be the first to be assessed. The College submits that the Court erred in finding that [appellant under 1] did not commit an abuse of rights. There are several aspects which, viewed in conjunction, must lead to a finding that there is an abuse of rights. For example, the conduct of [the appellant under 1] and [the agent] is established. In the past, [appellant sub 1] has submitted Wob requests in almost all municipalities. There have been many proceedings on this subject, which has ultimately led to decisions by the Division in which it is ruled that [appellant sub 1] has abused his rights with these requests. Now [appellant sub 1] has submitted a Wbp request to almost all municipalities. In addition, various aspects show that [appellant sub 1] and [authorised representative] have a financial motive. For example, in a similar case, [the agent] approached the Municipal Executive to buy off proceedings, a request for compensation for breach of a reasonable period of time was made on appeal and the notice of appeal is an almost literal repetition of the notice of appeal, which indicates a minimum effort. Failure to appear at a hearing also indicates this. In addition, the financial interests of [appellant under 1] and [agent] are apparent from [person's] no-cure-no-pay practice. Finally, there is another way for [appellant under 1] to obtain the personal data processed on the VNG forum. He had in fact initiated proceedings against the VNG in order to access those data and could have continued those proceedings. There was also the possibility of filing a new Wbp application, according to the College.
                    "Rechtbank Overijssel": 33,
4.1.   In its decision of 23 January 2019, ECLI:NL:RVS:2019:184, the Division ruled that the Wob and the Wbp relate to different matters. This means that the judgment that there has been an abuse of rights with regard to the Wob does not automatically mean that there has also been an abuse of rights with regard to the Wbp. The purpose of the Wbp is, among other things, to give citizens access to the way in which administrative bodies, among others, process their personal data. In its decision of 21 August 2019, ECLI:NL:RVS:2019:2797, which concerns a similar case of [appellant sub 1], the Division ruled that there were insufficient grounds for the opinion that [appellant sub 1] had made an abuse of rights by submitting the request for inspection and using legal remedies. The circumstance that the representative of [appellant sub 1] was declared inadmissible earlier in the context of Wob proceedings, that [appellant sub 1] had submitted requests for inspection to various municipalities, and that many proceedings were in progress about this, the fact that [the appellant under 1] is keeping a close eye on the time-limit for taking a decision and, if that time-limit is exceeded, requests the imposition of periodic penalty payments following formal notice and damages, was not considered sufficient for it to be concluded that [the appellant under 1] did not intend to take cognisance of the personal data processed concerning him, but merely attempted to collect sums of money from the public authorities.
                    "Rechtbank Rotterdam": 35,
4.2.   Contrary to the decision of 21 August 2019, the Division sees no reason to consider that [appellant sub 1] has misused the authority to submit requests for inspection. Finding out which municipalities have posted the applicant's personal data on the VNG forum is in line with the purpose of the Wbp. As [appellant sub 1] explained at the session, the VNG has removed everything from him from the forum. A request to the VNG for inspection therefore makes no sense. He hopes that the Board has made screenshots of the forum or can find out in some other way what was posted on the forum. If the Board has unlawfully processed his personal data, he will request compensation. Under the AVG there is the possibility to do so. The fact that this is the underlying purpose of this request, and also of the other requests for inspection that he has submitted, does not mean that the purpose of the request is no longer in line with the purpose of the Wbp. Nor does the Division see any reason to reach a different conclusion in what has otherwise been argued. In fact, the arguments put forward are very similar to those put forward in the case that led to the judgment of 21 August 2019.
                    "Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant": 37,
4.3.    The argument fails.
                    "Gerechtshof Amsterdam": 53,
Appeal by [appellant under 1]
                    "Gerechtshof Leeuwarden": 55,
5.   [appellant under 1] submits that the court erred in finding that the College was entitled to ask him to send a certified or authorised copy of an identity document or to visit the town hall. The copy of his identity document enabled the Municipal Executive to establish his identity properly. The signature on the request corresponds to the signature in the passport. The request for inspection was submitted from the address on which he is registered in the basic registration of persons, which is an important factor in establishing his identity, according to [appellant sub 1].
                    "Gerechtshof Arnhem": 55,
5.1.   It follows from the lack of specific points of reference in the Wbp that, in principle, the Municipal Executive has room for manoeuvre with regard to the manner in which it wishes to establish the identity of the applicant. That scope is also determined, on the one hand, by the principle that the determination of identity must be sound. On the other hand, the fact that the determination of identity may not be so impeding that it affects the right of the person concerned to apply freely to the College with a request for inspection.
                    "Gerechtshof Den Haag": 57,
5.2.   It is not considered unreasonable to ask for a copy of an identity document in the case of a request for inspection. This will guarantee a proper determination of the identity without prejudice to the right of the persons concerned to apply freely to the Board. In this case, the College noted that the signature on the request and on the passport did not correspond to the signature on previously submitted Wob requests of a person with the same name who lives at the same address. It could therefore reasonably take the view that this gave rise to doubts as to the identity of the applicant and that a copy of the passport alone was not sufficient in this case. The fact that, according to [appellant sub 1], the request for inspection had been submitted from the address with which he is registered in the basic registration of persons and that the overview could be sent to that address, could not have been considered sufficient by the Board to establish the identity properly. The Board was entitled to request additional information to establish the identity of [appellant under 1]. The Court correctly ruled that the two options given by the Municipal Executive [appellant sub 1], the submission of a certified or authorised copy of a valid identity document or the personal visit to the town hall, were not disproportionately onerous in this case. Although the distance to the town hall is considerable for [appellant sub 1], the alternative of a certified or authorised copy does not involve such high costs that the right to freely request inspection is infringed.
                    "Gerechtshof &#39;s-Hertogenbosch": 59
5.3.   The argument fails.
                };
5.4.   5.4. [appellant under 1] has also requested compensation for exceeding the reasonable period of time. He withdrew that request at the hearing and will therefore not be assessed.
 
Final sum
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6.   The appeals brought by [appellant under 1] and by the College are unfounded. The decision of the court must be upheld in so far as it has been attacked.
                if (rechtBankList[instantieNaam] != null)
7.   The Board must be ordered to reimburse the costs of the proceedings in a manner to be reported. The fact that [appellant sub 1] is more often objected to the fact that he has misused his right to submit requests for inspection does not, contrary to what he has argued, give cause to apply a heavier weighting factor.
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Decision
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The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State:
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I. confirms the decision of the court, in so far as attacked;
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II. orders the Municipal Executive of Heemskerk to compensate [appellant sub 1] for legal costs incurred by [appellant sub 1] in connection with the hearing of the appeal up to an amount of € 1,184.53 (in words: eleven hundred and eighty-four euros and fifty-three cents).
 
Thus established by Mr C.J. Borman, Chairman, and Mr S.F.M. Wortmann and Mr J. Gundelach, Members, in the presence of Mr P. Klein, Registrar.
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The chairman is prevented from signing the decision.
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w.g. Klein
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Registrar
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Pronounced in public on 9 December 2020
 
176-851.
 
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Annex
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Personal Data Protection Act
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1. The data subject shall have the right to address himself/herself freely and at reasonable intervals to the data controller with a request to inform him/her whether personal data relating to him/her are being processed. The data controller shall inform the data subject in writing within four weeks whether or not personal data relating to him or her are being processed.
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2. The person responsible shall ensure that the identity of the applicant is properly established.
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Latest revision as of 12:38, 16 September 2021

RvS - 201907720/1/A3
Courts logo1.png
Court: RvS (Netherlands)
Jurisdiction: Netherlands
Relevant Law:
Article 35 Personal Data Protection Act
Decided: 09.12.2020
Published: 09.12.2020
Parties: Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk
National Case Number/Name: 201907720/1/A3
European Case Law Identifier: ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2833
Appeal from: Rb. Noord-Holland (Netherlands)
18/817
Appeal to: Unknown
Original Language(s): Dutch
Original Source: Rechtspraak.nl (in Dutch)
Initial Contributor: n/a

The Dutch Council of State (RvS) held that in certain instances where a data subject's identity is in dispute, such as when there is a mismatch in signature, a data controller is entitled to request further proof of identity before fulfilling an access request. The Council of State reaffirmed that such an additional request must not be so demanding so as to impede on the GDPR right.

In this decision, this was not considered to be the case. The data controller had valid reasons to have doubts as to the identity of the applicant, and was therefore entitled to ask for additional information or to impose additional requirements.

English Summary

Facts

The Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk (which exercises the executive power of the municipal government) declined the request of the appellant to access his personal data. The data subject attached a copy of an expired passport to this request, but the Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk announced that it was unable to establish the applicant's identity properly with an expired passport. It therefore requested the appellant to send a certified copy of a valid identity document (i.e. copy of an original document that has been authorised or stamped as being a true copy of the original, by a qualified individual) or to visit the town hall in person. The appellant then sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanations.

The Council however decided not to consider the request. It took the view that it was not possible to properly establish the identity of the applicant with the information at its disposal. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, it had emerged from the administration that the signature on the request and on the passport did not match the signature on previously submitted requests by a person with the same name who lives at the same address. According to the Council, it was therefore necessary to establish the identity of the applicant by means of one of the two options offered (certified copy or visit at the town hall).

Dispute

Is a data controller entitled to request the data subject to send a certified copy of an identity document or to visit its building in person to establish its identity, or are these two options so impeding that it affects the right of the data subject to freely request access to his data?

Holding

On appeal, the Council of Mayor and Aldermen took the view that the appellant misused his rights because he made the access request with a view not to take cognisance of the personal data processed concerning him, but merely to collect penalty payments and obtaining reimbursement of legal costs from the public authorities (financial motive only). The District Court of Noord-Holland and the Council of State however ruled that there was insufficient ground to reach this conclusion.

The District Court of Noord-Holland and the Council of State considered that the Council of Mayor and Aldermen of Heemskerk could reasonably take the view that the different signatures gave rise to doubts as to the identity of the applicant and that a copy of the passport alone was not sufficient in this case.

It could therefore reasonably ask the applicant to send a certified copy of an identity document or to visit the town hall in person, to guarantee a proper establishment of his identity. The two options given by the Council were not disproportionately onerous. Although the distance to the town hall was considerable for the appellant, the alternative of a certified copy did not involve such high costs that the right of the data subject to freely request access to his data was infringed.

The Council of Mayor and Aldermen was therefore entitled to disregard the access request.

Comment

On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision from the Council is from before that date. Therefore, the Dutch Personal Data Act (Wet Bescherming Persoonsgegevens) still applied to this case.

This decision should be compared to: https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:RVS:2020:2915&showbutton=true&keyword=AVG

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English Machine Translation of the Decision

The decision below is a machine translation of the Dutch original. Please refer to the Dutch original for more details.

201907720/1/A3.
Date of judgment: 9 December 2020
SECTION
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
Judgment on the appeals of:
1.    [appellant under 1], residing at [place of residence],
2. the Municipal Executive of Heemskerk,
appellants,
against the judgment of the District Court of North Holland of 12 September 2019 in Case No 18/817 in the interlocutory proceedings:
[appellant under 1]
and
the college.
Process sequence
By decision of 19 September 2017, the Board rejected the request by [appellant under 1] for access to his personal data.
By decision of 18 January 2018, the Board dismissed [appellant sub 1]'s objection to that request as unfounded.
By decision of 13 February 2018, the Board decided that no penalty payment had been forfeited on account of the failure to decide on the objection in good time.
By decision of 12 September 2019, the Court declared the appeal lodged by [appellant sub 1] against the decision of 18 January 2018 unfounded and upheld the appeal lodged against the decision of 13 February 2018, annulled that decision and set the penalty payment forfeited by the Board at € 520. This judgment is attached.
The [appellant under 1] has lodged an appeal against that decision.
The Board made a written statement and lodged an incidental appeal.
The Division heard the case on 3 August 2020, where [the appellant sub 1], assisted by [the agent], legal aid provider, and the Board of Appeal, represented by C.N. van der Sluis, attorney at law in Rotterdam, appeared.
Recitals
Applicable law
1.    On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation became applicable. The decision on objections is from before that date. Therefore, the Wbp still applies to this case. For the text of the relevant provisions of the Wbp and the General Administrative Law Act (hereinafter: the Awb), reference is made to the annex, which forms part of the decision.
Decision-making
2.    On 30 July 2017 [appellant sub 1] requested access to the processing of his personal data as referred to in article 35 of the Wbp. According to [Appellant under 1], his personal data were processed in connection with, among other things, a request submitted previously under the Government Information (Public Access) Act (hereinafter: the Wob). He has also requested that, insofar as the Board has processed his personal data by posting messages on the forum of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (hereinafter: VNG), the content of these messages be included in the overview. He attached a copy of an expired passport to this request.
2.1.    On 7 August 2017, the Municipal Executive announced that it was unable to establish the applicant's identity properly with an expired passport. It requested [the appellant under 1] to send a certified or authorised copy of a valid identity document or to visit the town hall in person. [appellant sub 1] then sent a copy of a valid passport, without further explanation.
2.2.    By decision of 19 September 2017, the Municipal Executive decided not to consider the request. Pursuant to Section 37(2) of the Wbp, it is required to properly establish the identity of the applicant in the case of an application. The Municipal Executive took the view that this was not possible with the information at its disposal. Although a copy of a valid passport had been submitted, it had emerged from the administration that a person with the same name as [appellant under 1] had previously sent letters to the Board, but that the signature on those letters did not match the signature on the application for inspection. In view of this, it was necessary, in the opinion of the Board, to establish the identity by means of one of the two options offered. In its appeal, the College maintained the decision.
Ruling attacked
3.    On appeal, the College took the view that [the appellant under 1] was misusing his rights, because [the appellant under 1] made the request for inspection with the aim of collecting periodic penalty payments and obtaining reimbursement of legal costs. The court ruled that there is insufficient ground for the conclusion that [appellant sub 1] submitted the request for inspection under the Wbp for a purpose other than that for which it was granted. The court also ruled that the Board could reasonably ask for a certified or authorised copy of an identity document to be sent or for an appointment to be made at the town hall. Now that [the appellant under 1] has failed to do so, the court ruled that the Municipal Executive could disregard its request.
Appeal by the College
4.    The incidental appeal of the Board is the most far-reaching. That is why it will be the first to be assessed. The College submits that the Court erred in finding that [appellant under 1] did not commit an abuse of rights. There are several aspects which, viewed in conjunction, must lead to a finding that there is an abuse of rights. For example, the conduct of [the appellant under 1] and [the agent] is established. In the past, [appellant sub 1] has submitted Wob requests in almost all municipalities. There have been many proceedings on this subject, which has ultimately led to decisions by the Division in which it is ruled that [appellant sub 1] has abused his rights with these requests. Now [appellant sub 1] has submitted a Wbp request to almost all municipalities. In addition, various aspects show that [appellant sub 1] and [authorised representative] have a financial motive. For example, in a similar case, [the agent] approached the Municipal Executive to buy off proceedings, a request for compensation for breach of a reasonable period of time was made on appeal and the notice of appeal is an almost literal repetition of the notice of appeal, which indicates a minimum effort. Failure to appear at a hearing also indicates this. In addition, the financial interests of [appellant under 1] and [agent] are apparent from [person's] no-cure-no-pay practice. Finally, there is another way for [appellant under 1] to obtain the personal data processed on the VNG forum. He had in fact initiated proceedings against the VNG in order to access those data and could have continued those proceedings. There was also the possibility of filing a new Wbp application, according to the College.
4.1.    In its decision of 23 January 2019, ECLI:NL:RVS:2019:184, the Division ruled that the Wob and the Wbp relate to different matters. This means that the judgment that there has been an abuse of rights with regard to the Wob does not automatically mean that there has also been an abuse of rights with regard to the Wbp. The purpose of the Wbp is, among other things, to give citizens access to the way in which administrative bodies, among others, process their personal data. In its decision of 21 August 2019, ECLI:NL:RVS:2019:2797, which concerns a similar case of [appellant sub 1], the Division ruled that there were insufficient grounds for the opinion that [appellant sub 1] had made an abuse of rights by submitting the request for inspection and using legal remedies. The circumstance that the representative of [appellant sub 1] was declared inadmissible earlier in the context of Wob proceedings, that [appellant sub 1] had submitted requests for inspection to various municipalities, and that many proceedings were in progress about this, the fact that [the appellant under 1] is keeping a close eye on the time-limit for taking a decision and, if that time-limit is exceeded, requests the imposition of periodic penalty payments following formal notice and damages, was not considered sufficient for it to be concluded that [the appellant under 1] did not intend to take cognisance of the personal data processed concerning him, but merely attempted to collect sums of money from the public authorities.
4.2.    Contrary to the decision of 21 August 2019, the Division sees no reason to consider that [appellant sub 1] has misused the authority to submit requests for inspection. Finding out which municipalities have posted the applicant's personal data on the VNG forum is in line with the purpose of the Wbp. As [appellant sub 1] explained at the session, the VNG has removed everything from him from the forum. A request to the VNG for inspection therefore makes no sense. He hopes that the Board has made screenshots of the forum or can find out in some other way what was posted on the forum. If the Board has unlawfully processed his personal data, he will request compensation. Under the AVG there is the possibility to do so. The fact that this is the underlying purpose of this request, and also of the other requests for inspection that he has submitted, does not mean that the purpose of the request is no longer in line with the purpose of the Wbp. Nor does the Division see any reason to reach a different conclusion in what has otherwise been argued. In fact, the arguments put forward are very similar to those put forward in the case that led to the judgment of 21 August 2019.
4.3.    The argument fails.
Appeal by [appellant under 1]
5.    [appellant under 1] submits that the court erred in finding that the College was entitled to ask him to send a certified or authorised copy of an identity document or to visit the town hall. The copy of his identity document enabled the Municipal Executive to establish his identity properly. The signature on the request corresponds to the signature in the passport. The request for inspection was submitted from the address on which he is registered in the basic registration of persons, which is an important factor in establishing his identity, according to [appellant sub 1].
5.1.    It follows from the lack of specific points of reference in the Wbp that, in principle, the Municipal Executive has room for manoeuvre with regard to the manner in which it wishes to establish the identity of the applicant. That scope is also determined, on the one hand, by the principle that the determination of identity must be sound. On the other hand, the fact that the determination of identity may not be so impeding that it affects the right of the person concerned to apply freely to the College with a request for inspection.
5.2.    It is not considered unreasonable to ask for a copy of an identity document in the case of a request for inspection. This will guarantee a proper determination of the identity without prejudice to the right of the persons concerned to apply freely to the Board. In this case, the College noted that the signature on the request and on the passport did not correspond to the signature on previously submitted Wob requests of a person with the same name who lives at the same address. It could therefore reasonably take the view that this gave rise to doubts as to the identity of the applicant and that a copy of the passport alone was not sufficient in this case. The fact that, according to [appellant sub 1], the request for inspection had been submitted from the address with which he is registered in the basic registration of persons and that the overview could be sent to that address, could not have been considered sufficient by the Board to establish the identity properly. The Board was entitled to request additional information to establish the identity of [appellant under 1]. The Court correctly ruled that the two options given by the Municipal Executive [appellant sub 1], the submission of a certified or authorised copy of a valid identity document or the personal visit to the town hall, were not disproportionately onerous in this case. Although the distance to the town hall is considerable for [appellant sub 1], the alternative of a certified or authorised copy does not involve such high costs that the right to freely request inspection is infringed.
5.3.    The argument fails.
5.4.    5.4. [appellant under 1] has also requested compensation for exceeding the reasonable period of time. He withdrew that request at the hearing and will therefore not be assessed.
Final sum
6.    The appeals brought by [appellant under 1] and by the College are unfounded. The decision of the court must be upheld in so far as it has been attacked.
7.    The Board must be ordered to reimburse the costs of the proceedings in a manner to be reported. The fact that [appellant sub 1] is more often objected to the fact that he has misused his right to submit requests for inspection does not, contrary to what he has argued, give cause to apply a heavier weighting factor.
Decision
The Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State:
I. confirms the decision of the court, in so far as attacked;
II. orders the Municipal Executive of Heemskerk to compensate [appellant sub 1] for legal costs incurred by [appellant sub 1] in connection with the hearing of the appeal up to an amount of € 1,184.53 (in words: eleven hundred and eighty-four euros and fifty-three cents).
Thus established by Mr C.J. Borman, Chairman, and Mr S.F.M. Wortmann and Mr J. Gundelach, Members, in the presence of Mr P. Klein, Registrar.
The chairman is prevented from signing the decision.
w.g. Klein
Registrar
Pronounced in public on 9 December 2020
176-851.
 
Annex
 
Personal Data Protection Act
Article 35
1. The data subject shall have the right to address himself/herself freely and at reasonable intervals to the data controller with a request to inform him/her whether personal data relating to him/her are being processed. The data controller shall inform the data subject in writing within four weeks whether or not personal data relating to him or her are being processed.
[…].
Article 37
1. […].
2. The person responsible shall ensure that the identity of the applicant is properly established.
[…].
General Administrative Law Act
Article 4:5
1. The administrative body may decide not to consider the application if:
a. the applicant has not complied with any legal requirement for the application to be considered, or
b. the application has been refused, in whole or in part, on the grounds of Article 2:15, or
c. the information and documents provided are inadequate for the evaluation of the application or the preparation of the decision,
provided that the applicant has had the opportunity to complete the application within a period set by the administrative authority.
[…].