Thomas Sanders

Practice Areas

Public Law

Career

Thomas Sanders (PhD, LLM, MSc, MA) specializes in Dutch enforcement law. He represents governmental bodies, companies and citizens when they are confronted with administrative sanctions, such as (conditional) fines, administrative coercion or the revocation of permits. He also aids clients with issues in the field of planning and environmental law.

Thomas regularly represents clients with cases which are in the public eye and the news. Examples of clients and cases Thomas has taken on are:

advising the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security on enforcing child pornography laws against providers

advising the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs on enforcing laws regarding permanent residency in holiday villages

advising the Dutch Junior Minister of Finance about compensating parents affected by the childcare allowance scandal

advising the Dutch Data Protection Authority on tackling violations of the GDPR

advising the Province of Limburg on the closure and clean-up of a chemical waste company

advising the Limburg Water Board on repairing the damage caused by the 2021 summer floods

advising the municipality of Zundert on the proposed closure of the Fort Oranje camping site

advising the municipality of Gouda on the proposed intervention to prevent a church from collapsing

advising several municipalities and Regional Health Service agencies on enforcing the Childcare Act

advising a Fortune 500 company when it was ordered to pay penalties following alleged environmental offences

advising a Nasdaq listed company after the Dutch Gaming Authority imposed a penalty on the company for offering illegal games of chance

Thomas’s clients said the following about him:

“He is very knowledgeable on the matter, with a lot of technical expertise. Furthermore, he is very accessible for client questions, being able to outline his legal arguments to non-lawyers but also without losing perspective on the bigger picture, beyond the strict legal angle. In dealings with the Dutch government he took a firm technical position on the merits of the case while keeping his composure and remaining friendly, respectful and professional – very impressive. I would recommend anyone dealing with an issue in enforcement law to reach out to Thomas.”

‘’Thomas is a dedicated lawyer with a strong but pleasant personality. He brings calm to the case and possesses the ability to use humor to make his point irresistibly convincing. Urgent matters are dealt with urgently – wherever he is. Promises are always kept. I would certainly recommend Thomas as a lawyer.”

Thomas received his PhD in law from the University of Leiden for his thesis ‘The recovery of administrative sanctions’ (2018). He is a nationally acknowledged specialist in this field.

In addition to his work for AKD, Thomas is a lecturer at the Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary. Thomas is also a commentator of administrative judgements for the leading jurisprudence journal in administrative law.