RFC-002: Bevoegdheid (Authority) in Machine-Readable Law

Status: Proposed Date: 2025-11-21 Authors: Tim de Jager

Context

When representing laws and regulations in machine-readable format, we need to capture who has the authority (bevoegdheid) to make binding decisions.

Observed Patterns

In Wet op de Zorgtoeslag (BWBR0018451):

• Article 1a defines "Onze Minister" (responsible minister)
• Article 5 defines "Dienst Toeslagen" as executing authority

In Regeling Standaardpremie (BWBR0050536):

• Preamble defines the Minister as both issuer and executor

In Wet langdurige zorg (BWBR0035917):

• Article 2.1.3: Sociale verzekeringsbank — insurance determination (vaststelling verzekering)
• Article 3.2.3: CIZ — indication decision (indicatiebesluit)
• Article 3.3.3: Zorgkantoor — personal care budget (persoonsgebonden budget)
• Article 4.2.1: Wlz-uitvoerder — duty of care (zorgplicht)
• Article 5.1.1: Zorginstituut Nederland — supervision (toezicht)
• Article 6.1.1: CAK
• Article 7.1.1: CIZ

The Problem

One law can have multiple competent authorities for different actions. For example, a law might grant authority to:

• A minister for policy decisions
• An agency for individual decisions (beschikkingen)
• A different body for appeals

Additionally, some authorities are categorical rather than specific. For example, the College of Mayor and Aldermen (college van burgemeester en wethouders) applies to all 340+ municipalities, not a single entity.

Decision

1. Article Level

Define competent_authority at the article level (in machine_readable), not at document top-level.

2. Object Structure

competent_authority is an object with:

• name: name of the authority (required)
• type: enum INSTANCE or CATEGORY (optional, defaults to INSTANCE)

# Specific authority (instance) - type can be omitted
competent_authority:
  name: "Dienst Toeslagen"

# Categorical authority - type must be explicit
competent_authority:
  name: "college van burgemeester en wethouders"
  type: CATEGORY

3. Type Definitions

• INSTANCE: A specific organization (Dienst Toeslagen, CIZ, CAK, Sociale verzekeringsbank)
• CATEGORY: A category that must be resolved per context (College of Mayor and Aldermen (college van B&W), municipal council (gemeenteraad), provincial executive (gedeputeerde staten))

Why

Article-level authority makes sense because:

• One law can have 0..n competent authorities
• Different articles may have different authorities
• The law text itself defines where authority is granted

Object structure with type because:

• Distinguishes between specific instances and categories
• Explicit about what needs runtime resolution

Skip identifiers (OIN, TOOI) for now because:

• Multiple identifier systems exist
• Name is sufficient for MVP
• Can add identifiers later when requirements are clearer

Open Questions

• How to handle delegation of authority (mandaat/delegatie)?
• How to handle # references for competent_authority? When competent_authority: '#bevoegd_gezag' references an output, the type (INSTANCE/CATEGORY) must be specified separately. This is awkward because the type isn't part of the law being modeled - it's metadata we're adding.

References

• Issue #7: Good enough Language for 1st fase Editor and Engine
• PR #30 Discussion
• Art. 1:1 Awb (definition of administrative body (bestuursorgaan))
• Glossary of Dutch Legal Terms