Amsterdam district court has made a formal complaint to the police after documents were taken from a container outside the Parnassusweg court room and handed to the Telegraaf.

The Telegraaf said on Friday that builders found thousands of pages of information – some of a sensitive nature – in part of the court complex which is being demolished. The documents were handed over to the Telegraaf in three plastic bags.

The court said it is too early to say if the incident will have an impact on ongoing court cases.

There are strict guidelines in place for dealing with confidential legal information and how it should be destroyed. Paperwork which is no longer needed is kept in sealed containers and then disposed of by a specialist company.

Police are now investigating the theft.