Appeal Submission to the Court of Appeal against the Decision of the District Court of Noord Holland
Appears in case: First Administrative Challenge against the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation
Jurisdiction
The Netherlands
Locale
Armed Conflict in Yemen
Recipient State
Egypt
Document Type
Claimant Submissions
The appeal submits that the claimants are interested parties, and challenges the conclusion of the District Court that the customs law of the EU does not qualify them as interested parties.
In support, it is submitted that the wording of EU law does not automatically entail that NGOs in national proceedings in which EU law is applied are unable to defend matters in the public interest. The claimants submit that this argument is particularly bolstered by the fact that NGOs have a right to stand in public interest cases in other jurisdictions when EU law is applied, such as the UK, as well as the fact that in the Netherlands NGOs can bring civil law claims in cases of public interest. On the substantive component, the claimants highlight their concerns regarding the use of the weapons to be exported in the commission of serious human rights violations by Egyptian forces, including the risks to regional stability and their use in Yemen.
Read the decision of the District Court here and appeal pleadings below.
