Bart Kiewiet is a leading specialist in plant variety rights, and also an expert in the fields of Dutch and European administrative law. He is co-author of a standard work of reference on Community plant variety rights and regularly speaks at seminars and as visiting lecturer at the universities of Wageningen and Strasbourg.
Bart does not act as attorney-at-law, but in his capacity as Of Counsel he provides strategic and substantive advice in all specialist areas of Vondst’s practice, with a focus on plant variety and administrative law.
Bart studied law at VU University Amsterdam. After his tenure with the Dutch Ornamental Plants Product Board (Product-schap voor Siergewassen), in 1984 Bart became a member and later coordinating vice-president of the Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (CBB). The CBB is the judicial appeals body for disputes in the area of socio-economic administrative law.
In 1989 Bart combined his position at the CBB with chairing the National Board for Plant Variety Rights, at the time the competent authority in the Netherlands for granting plant variety rights. Bart Kiewiet was Chairman of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) from 1996 until 2011. This European Union office is charged with the implementation of the Community’s plant variety rights system.
