Council of State blows mayor’s whistle to close coffee shop Amsterdam

The owner of a coffee shop in East Amsterdam that was closed by Mayor Halsema in 2018 after two explosions, has successfully litigated against the closure before the Council of State. According to the highest administrative court, the mayor should have explained better why the coffee shop was no longer allowed to open after the explosions.

Two explosions took place at the coffee shop in September 2018. The property was damaged as a result, as were two cars parked nearby. An investigation showed that the explosions were caused by heavy professional fireworks.

Mayor Halsema decided on the coffee shop to close immediately for an indefinite period of time. “Such an incident in public space seriously jeopardizes the safety of local residents and passers-by and affects public order,” the mayor explained her intervention at the time.

The owner of the coffee shop then submitted a request to reopen, but the mayor rejected it. According to Halsema, police information showed that there were already problems with public order before the incident, because visitors to the coffee shop caused a nuisance.

In addition, Halsema also decided to withdraw the operating permit and the tolerance statement for the business and the address. The owner of the business stepped in to court, but he ruled in favor of the mayor.

The owner signed appealed to the Council of State, which has now overturned the court’s verdict. According to the council, the court wrongly ruled in favor of Halsema.

The Council of State ruled that Halsema had rightly pointed out that the explosions posed a serious threat to public order, but she did not provide sufficient reasons why reopening the coffee shop could also pose a serious threat to public order.

According to the council, it is not certain that there is a connection between the explosions and the coffee shop. The police investigation turned up nothing, the perpetrator was never arrested and no motive was found. The nuisance caused by visitors did indeed affect public order, but according to the highest administrative court this is not a major threat to public order.

Furthermore, according to the Council of State, the mayor has not sufficiently motivated why in May 2019, seven months after the fireworks incident, even more time was needed to restore peace and order in the area.

It is not clear whether the ruling also has consequences for other coffee shops that have been closed indefinitely. The mayor must now take a new decision within six weeks, which takes into account the ruling of the Council of State.

The municipality has issued a response NH News/AT5 know: “We will study the verdict and consider what to do next. There were compelling reasons to close, such a decision is not taken lightly, and the court of Amsterdam has previously ruled in our favour.”