The Netherlands

On behalf of the team

On 21 October 2020, MarktOnderzoekAssociatie.nl (MOA), a market research association, requested the District Court to declare that regulations and policy rules pertaining to the remit of Statistics Netherlands are non-binding. Not only do MOA members receive data from Statistics Netherlands: they also compete with Statistics Netherlands, particularly in respect of contracts for government authorities. Because the State is providing it with less fixed annual compensation, Statistics Netherlands is focusing more on commercial contracts for government authorities. In MOA’s view, according to the legislative history such activities are only permitted on an occasional basis, and the current situation constitutes unfair competition for the MOA members. One of the arguments for conducting this case as a class action is that the members involved would prefer to remain anonymous because they fear the wrath of Statistics Netherlands and the government authorities as the supplier of data and contracts. MOA discusses its locus standi requirements relatively extensively, but states that it does not have to comply with the locus standi requirements in Article 3:305a(2) and (5) of the Dutch Civil Code, because it is pursuing an objective of principle. [1]Summons against the State of the Netherlands (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) (in Dutch