Courts and cases Netherlands (Lexadin)

COURTS AND CASES NETHERLANDS

Appellate Courts / Court of Audit / First Instance Courts / Judiciary (general) / Jurisprudence (Case Law) / Other Courts / Regional courts / Supreme Courts (Highest Instance) / Judicial Map

Supreme Courts (Highest Instance)

Hoge Raad

The Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague is the highest judicial instance in the Netherlands. The court acts as a court of cassation, facts of the case as established by the lower court are not reviewed. The Court is comprised of the Chief Justice and 38 judges. The judges are appointed for a life time period.

Hoge Raad (Dutch Supreme Court)

Appellate Courts

Gerechtshof

The 19 districts in the Netherlands are divided into five areas of Court of Appeal jurisdiction. The court hears appeal lodged by the District Courts on criminal and civil Law. In most cases it is possible to contest the Court of Appeal’s decision by appealing in cassation to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. The court also function as administrative court, deciding on appeals against tax assessments.

Gerechtshof ' Gravenhage (Court of Appeal)
Gerechtshof 's Hertogenbosch (Court of Appeal)
Gerechtshof Amsterdam (Court of Appeal)
Gerechtshof Arnhem (Court of Appeal)
Gerechtshof Leeuwarden (Court of Appeal)

Regional courts

Rechtbank

The Netherlands is divided into 19 districts, each with its own court. The district court is made up of a maximum of five sectors. These always include the administrative sector, civil sector, criminal sector and subdistrict sector. The 19 district courts deal as courts of first instance with criminal cases and civil cases not handled by the 61 sub-district courts

First Instance Courts

Sector Kanton

The 19 districts are divided in 61 subdistricts. Citizens have the right to argue their own case and do not need a lawyer to represent them in the Kanton courts. Civil jurisdiction involves all cases concerning rents, hire purchase, employment and all conflicts involving an amount under 5,000 euros. Criminal Jurisdiction involves minor offences. In 2002, the sub-district courts were incorporated administratively into the district courts; a subdistrict court section is now formed at these courts.

Court of Audit

Rekenkamer (Court of Audit)

Other Courts

The Central Appeals Tribunal is a board of appeal which is mainly active in legal areas pertaining to social security and the civil service. In these areas it is the highest judicial authority. The Tribunal is based in Utrecht.

The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal is a special administrative court which rules on disputes in the area of social-economic administrative law. In addition this appeals tribunal also rules on appeals for specific laws, such as the Competition Act and the Telecommunications Act. The Tribunal is based in The Hague

Centrale Raad van Beroep (Central Appeals Tribunal)
College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven (Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal)

Jurisprudence (Case Law)

DOMjur - Nederlandse uitspraken op gebied van domeinrecht
Decisions on Competition law
Jure Rechterlijke Uitspraken Online
Jurisprudentie - The Digital Lawyer
Jurisprudentie Informatietechnologie en Recht
Jurisprudentie Sociale Zekerheidsrecht
RSJ Database
Uitspraken (Dutch case law)

Judiciary (general)

Openbaar Ministerie (Public Prosecution Service)
Raad voor de rechtspraak
Rechtspraak (Judiciary)