P oecd best Practice Principles for Regulatory Policy The Governance of Regulators

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– 2. PREVENTING UNDUE INFLUENCE AND MAINTAINING TRUST
THE GOVERNANCE OF REGULATORS © OECD 2014 Box 2.2. Authority for Consumers and Markets, Netherlands
The Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in the Netherlands is formally an autonomous administrative authority without legal personality. It operates under the Framework Act for autonomous administrative authorities
(“Kaderwet Zelfstandige Bestuursorganen”). According to this Act only the Board of ACM is the autonomous administrative authority. The minister provides staff to the autonomous administrative authority. The Framework Act ensures that the staff that is employed by the Board of ACM is empowered only by the Board. The employed staff is only accountable to the Board. The staff is not allowed to seek instructions of the minister neither can the minister give instructions to the staff employed by the Board of ACM. Crucial conditions for independent staff are therefore guaranteed bylaw. Legislation alone is not sufficient to guarantee an independent regulator. Internal governance plays an important role. Therefore ACM regards independence explicitly as one of its three core values. The other core values are openness and professionalism. These core values form the basis of all of ACM’s actions. In practice, the independent position of ACM as an organisation means, on the one hand, taking a critical attitude and exercising independent judgments, and, on the other, maintaining open and constructive relationships with ministries, other regulators and stakeholders.
Source: Authority for Consumers and Markets (2013), Netherlands.

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