A request by Dutch tax specialist, Karim Aachboun, to halt the appointment of former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO Secretary General was rejected, a Dutch-speaking court in Brussels confirmed on Wednesday.
On 26 June, Rutte was named head of NATO. Prior to this, Aachboun had started two legal cases against Rutte in the Netherlands, concerning the Dutch childcare benefits scandal and the death of a Dutch woman in Gaza in October 2023.
As the cases are still ongoing, Aachboun is concerned that a potential ruling in his favour will not be enforced due to the immunity conferred upon the NATO Secretary General, who might transfer his assets to Belgium. He therefore, requested the Brussels court to suspend Rutte’s NATO appointment until the ongoing Dutch cases are resolved.
However, the Belgian court does not have jurisdiction over the request: "NATO is an intergovernmental organisation governed by international treaties," argued Belgian state lawyer Patrik De Maeyer, citing the 1951 Ottawa Convention, which stipulates that NATO cannot be summoned before a national court for its decisions.
The Dutch tax expert has already appealed the decision.
