This report examines how the Netherlands tests whether proposed laws can be implemented, and what follows when that test is skipped or incomplete.
The required test is often missing
The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security does not test, or only partly tests, how about half of its proposed laws and amendments would work in practice, according to findings reported by NRC and the Netherlands Court of Audit. An internal message now urges officials to complete the mandatory implementation assessment on time. The assessment is intended to tell parliament whether a measure can be delivered, how many staff it requires, what it will cost and which risks may arise. Without it, MPs may lack crucial information on operational feasibility, staffing and financial support before voting. The Court of Audit examined 500 new policy and legislative initiatives and found that half had no assessment or only a partial one.
An implementation assessment is a delivery check
An implementation assessment is not a policy review or a bid evaluation. It is a structured check by the organisations expected to apply a new measure. Those organisations assess feasibility, required personnel, operational risks and digital delivery, using a mandatory cover sheet with a glossary and a standard set of questions. That mechanism matters to public buyers and suppliers because a new legal requirement can change the work, systems and capacity needed to deliver a public service, even when the law itself is settled. A credible assessment brings those consequences into the legislative process early, rather than leaving them to agencies, contractors or regulated organisations after commencement.
Late checks have already exposed capacity problems
The Court of Audit found that one in six assessments lacked information on whether enough staff were available, while three in ten did not judge feasibility at all. NRC also found that the ministry sometimes commissioned estimates of staffing and implementation costs from external consultancies rather than obtaining them from the organisations that would deliver the measures. The reported consequences include the doxing ban, introduced on 1 January 2024, which generated more police reports and criminal cases than the Public Prosecution Service had expected. The sexual offences law, in force since mid-2024, also required repeated revisions to police estimates, while inflation increased projected costs. The ministry is now examining practical effects after both measures took effect.
The ministry is tightening its process
Director-General Eric Bezem has called on officials to take implementation more seriously and improve the ministry’s overview of legislation in its pipeline. The internal message says assessments are essential for organisations to carry out planned policy and address risks and challenges. The Court of Audit has previously said that the ministry’s process and the substance of its assessments were not in order, and that it fell short of its wider responsibility for legislative quality. Emeritus professor Paul Bovend’Eert of Maastricht University said the assessment should have the highest priority. The ministry’s revised approach does not remove uncertainty, but it gives officials and parliament a defined point at which staffing, cost, digital capability and feasibility must be confronted.
IN NUMBERS
For procurement markets, the lesson is transferable: when legislation changes the obligations of public organisations, implementation capacity is part of the market conditions. Testing that capacity before adoption can reveal whether the people, money and systems needed to apply a rule are available. Testing after commencement can leave public bodies, businesses and citizens waiting while delivery arrangements catch up.
Reported from nrc.nl, 2026-09-08. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
