Notes
Andrea Keessen of Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) summarizes the District Court of The Hague ruling ECLI:NL:RBDHA:2024:3734 (20 March 2024) in RBV (Stichting Recht op Bescherming tegen Vliegtuighinder) vs. the State of the Netherlands. The court found the Dutch State violated Article 8 ECHR (right to privacy/home) and Article 13 ECHR (right to effective legal protection) by exposing a disproportionate number of residents to serious annoyance and sleep disturbance from Schiphol Airport air traffic. The airport operated for nearly 15 years under the unlawful LVB 2008 regime without legal enforcement; the court ordered the State within 12 months to enforce applicable laws and create individualized legal protection for noise-affected residents including those outside established noise contours. Covers the balanced approach procedure under EU Noise Regulation 598/2014, IATA and 15 airlines’ parallel proceedings, the Dutch Supreme Court Advocate General’s April 2024 advisory opinion, the equivalence requirement under the 2003 Aviation Act, WHO noise guidelines, and Hatton v. United Kingdom (ECHR 2003). Target aircraft movements reduction: from ~500,000 to 400,000 before 20 March 2025.