The Oversight Department of the Review Committee on the Intelligence and Security Services (CTIVD) assesses whether the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) and the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) abide by the law and, in particular, the following legislation: the Intelligence and Security Services Act 2017 (ISS Act 2017) and the Security Screening Act.
The Oversight Department determines the topics of its investigations independently. There may be times when parliament, the Minister of Internal Affairs and Kingdom Relations or the Minister of Defence asks the Oversight Department to conduct an investigation. The Oversight Department subsequently decides if and how it will respond to that request. The Department reports its findings and conclusions in public reports. The reports are published on the website of the CTIVD.
Specific matters are often not discussed in great detail in these public reports, because much of the underlying information is state secret. This is because the information reveals the current level of knowledge of the AIVD and the MIVD or the services’ sources. The Oversight Department compiles any explanations that cannot be made public in a classified appendix. This appendix is sent to the Committee for the Intelligence and Security Services (CIVD) of the House of Representatives.