PRESS RELEASE (EN)
The 16th European Forum of Official Gazettes hosted by The Netherlands
Successful 16th European Forum of Official Gazettes in "legal world capital" The Hague
From 20 to 22 June 2019, the 16th European Forum of Official Gazettes took place in The Hague (The Netherlands). The theme of this international conference was "The Future of Official Publications". This year, the Knowledge and Exploitation Center for Official Publications (KOOP), part of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations hosted the conference.
The European Publications Offices for "Official Gazettes" are responsible for promulgating laws and making leglislation accessible. The host country organizes this yearly conference in close cooperation with the European Publications Office. The conference was held in the Netherlands for the first time, due to the 10 year anniversary of the Dutch Digital Government Gazette. The goal of the conference is to share knowledge and experience about the (digital) publication of legislation.
In the opening speech of the Dutch Secretary-General of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Maarten Schurink, emphasized the value for democracy by making digital leglislation and public official government information accessible. Schurink indicated that a Dutch law, the Open Government Act, is being prepared in the Netherlands to actively disclose government information. The director of the EU publication agency, Rudolph Strohmeier, indicated in his presentation that acceleration within Europe is necessary. Host of the conference, General Manager KOOP, Onno Muchall, proudly portrayed The Hague as "legal world capital", with international legal institutes such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. Muchall further explained how KOOP has navigated from paper publication towards the "digitopia" of legislation and regulations over the past 10 years.
During the conference, various keynote speakers and specialists shared knowledge. There was a lecture about the need to translate each other's national laws and regulations in all languages. There were also interesting lectures and workshops about European legal standardization, the technical highlights in the Dutch Environment Act and lectures on involving end users in technical solutions. Professor Mireille Hildebrandt and professor Erik Vermeulen presented the risks related to the use of Artifical Intelligence in legal practice and the digital future in which people, machines and IT work together. All speakers seemed to agree on one thing: the government must take its responsibility in the possibilities of further European digitalization of legislation and regulations. This means that international acceleration is need, with involved politic systems and proper identification of risks.
Onno Muchall is proud of the international partnership and the outcome of the conference: ‘The participants were enthusiastic about KOOP as a host and about the art, culture and legal importance of the host city The Hague. The sessions were interactive which enabled us to share insights and knowledge. The importance of our work and partnership was widely recognized and mentioned in the speeches of Dutch Secretary-General Maarten Schurink and the director of the European Publications Office, Rudolph Strohmeier.’