afkondigen

Afkondigen is een Dutch verb meaning to proclaim or publicly announce, especially in official or formal contexts. The term is often used for the promulgation of laws, decrees, or other normative acts, with the sense that a decision becomes officially valid through public notification. In daily language it can also mean to announce or declare something authoritatively, but its strongest connotation lies in legal and governmental proceedings.

In legal and governmental practice afkondigen refers to making a decision binding and enforceable by formal publication. A law, royal decree, or regulation is typically afgekondigd by the competent authority, such as a parliament, the government, or a monarch, so that it becomes known to the public and enters into force. The act of publication itself is called afkondiging, and it is often accompanied by related terms like bekendmaking or public notification.

Grammatical notes: afkondigen is a separable prefix verb. In the present tense the prefix can move, for example: ik kondig af, jij kondigt af, wij kondigen af. In the perfect tense the past participle is afgekondigd, and in passive constructions you may encounter de wet werd afgekondigd. The term is relatively formal and most common in legal or administrative contexts, with synonyms such as bekendmaken or (to a lesser extent) aankondigen in more general usage.

See also: bekendmaking, promulgation, law publication.