Netherlands · Council of State, Administrative Jurisdiction Division
Raad van State: published decisions
In 2025, Raad van State (Council of State, Administrative Jurisdiction Division) published 5,549 decisions on rechtspraak.nl, 7% more than in 2024. That is 8.7% of the 64,124 decisions published by the 19 courts covered here. Of the court's decisions, each carries the administrative-law label. These counts describe published case law, not the court's caseload.
- Published decisions in 20255,549+7% over one year
- Share of the Dutch total8.7%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Administrative law100%of its decisions; civil law: 0%
- Largest detailed areaImmigration law2,562 decisions, 46% of the court's total
Decisions year by year
The chart follows the number of decisions of Raad van State published on rechtspraak.nl, year by year since 2013, the first year of the current court map. The count measures what is published, not the number of cases the court handled.
In 2025, Raad van State published 5,549 decisions, 7% more than in 2024. This is 8.7% of the 64,124 decisions published by the 19 courts, against 21% in 2013. Over the period, the court's yearly count of published decisions went from 4,925 in 2013 to 5,549 in 2025 (+13%). The yearly count ranged from 2,989 in 2021 to 5,549 in 2025.
| Year | Decisions | Change | Share of the 19 courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4,925 | – | 21% |
| 2014 | 4,794 | −3% | 20% |
| 2015 | 4,078 | −15% | 16% |
| 2016 | 3,504 | −14% | 14% |
| 2017 | 3,596 | +3% | 14% |
| 2018 | 4,277 | +19% | 15% |
| 2019 | 4,468 | +4% | 16% |
| 2020 | 3,106 | −30% | 8.5% |
| 2021 | 2,989 | −4% | 7.2% |
| 2022 | 3,952 | +32% | 9% |
| 2023 | 4,782 | +21% | 9.2% |
| 2024 | 5,163 | +8% | 9% |
| 2025 | 5,549 | +7% | 8.7% |
Published decisions only: the series reflects what the court publishes as well as what it decides. Series start in 2013, the first year of the current court map.
Areas of law
Each decision published on rechtspraak.nl carries area-of-law labels: broad groups (administrative law, civil law, public international law) and detailed areas. The table counts the decisions of Raad van State that carry each label in 2025. A decision can carry several labels and some carry only a broad one, so the detailed areas do not add up to their group.
Of the 5,549 decisions published in 2025, each carries the administrative-law label. Among the detailed areas, immigration law (2,562, 46%) and planning and environmental law (402, 7.2%) appear most often. Detailed labels are attached to only part of the decisions: the areas below carry 2,964 labels for the court's 5,549 decisions. Decisions with the immigration law label numbered 2,562, 3% fewer than in 2024; they are 16% of the 16,353 published decisions with this label across the 19 courts.
| Area of law | Decisions 2025 | Share of the court | Change | Share of all decisions with this label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative law | 5,549 | 100% | +7% | 14% |
| Immigration law | 2,562 | 46% | −3% | 16% |
| Planning and environmental law | 402 | 7.2% | +28% | 20% |
See also Immigration law Planning and environmental law
A decision can carry several area labels and some carry only a broad one: counts of different areas cannot be added together.
Place in the court system
The Council of State is the highest general administrative court. Its published decisions are set beside those of the other highest courts below.
It hears appeals against rulings of the district courts and rules at first and last instance in some matters, such as challenges to zoning plans. Its rulings cannot be appealed to another Dutch court. In 2025, the 4 highest courts published 9,122 decisions in all, of which 5,549 by Raad van State (61%).
| Court | Decisions 2025 | Share of the highest courts | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raad van State | 5,549 | 61% | +7% |
| Centrale Raad van Beroep | 1,900 | 21% | −22% |
| Hoge Raad | 985 | 11% | −3% |
| College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven | 688 | 7.5% | −28% |
See also Centrale Raad van Beroep Hoge Raad College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven Netherlands overview
Published decisions only: each court publishes a different share of its rulings, so these counts are not caseloads and cannot be compared as workloads.
Understanding these figures
What the Council of State does
The Council of State (Raad van State) advises the government and Parliament on legislation and, through its Administrative Jurisdiction Division, is the highest general administrative court. It hears appeals in immigration, planning and environment cases and in many other administrative matters, and in some matters, such as challenges to zoning plans, it rules at first and last instance. In 2025, Raad van State published 5,549 decisions; of these, each carries the administrative-law label.
A published selection
The figures count decisions published on rechtspraak.nl, the website of the Dutch judiciary, where each decision carries a European Case Law Identifier (ECLI). Courts publish only part of their rulings, and the share published differs from one court to another, from one area of law to another and from one year to the next. The 5,549 decisions counted for Raad van State in 2025 are those published; this is not a count of all the cases the court handled.
ECLI numbers and the court code
An ECLI number has the form ECLI:NL:<court code>:<year>:<number>. The decisions of Raad van State carry the court code RVS, so their numbers begin ECLI:NL:RVS, followed by the year and a sequence number. With this number, any published decision of the court can be found on rechtspraak.nl.
How areas of law are labelled
Each published decision carries one or more area-of-law labels. There are three broad groups, administrative law, civil law and public international law, and, within them, detailed areas such as tax law or family law. A decision can carry several labels, and some carry only a broad one, so the detailed areas do not add up to their group and counts for different areas cannot be added together.
Reading this court's figures with care
About 46% of the decisions published by Raad van State in 2025 carry the immigration law label, so its count mainly reflects that field. The count also depends on what the court publishes: a change from one year to the next may reflect a change in publication as well as in the court's work. The data hold counts only, with no outcome and no time to judgment, and no statistic can predict the outcome of a particular case.
Frequently asked questions
How many decisions did Raad van State publish in 2025?
Raad van State (Council of State, Administrative Jurisdiction Division) published 5,549 decisions on rechtspraak.nl in 2025, against 5,163 in 2024. Published decisions are a selection of all rulings, so this is not the number of cases the court handled.
Which areas of law do the published decisions of Raad van State cover?
Of its published decisions, each carries the administrative-law label. The most frequent detailed areas are immigration law (2,562) and planning and environmental law (402).
What share of the published Dutch decisions comes from Raad van State?
8.7% of the 64,124 decisions published by the 19 courts covered here in 2025, against 21% in 2013.
Does this count every case handled by Raad van State?
No. The figures count decisions published on rechtspraak.nl, a selection of all rulings. They do not measure the court's caseload.
Can the rulings of Raad van State be appealed?
No. It is one of the highest courts in its field and its rulings cannot be appealed to another Dutch court.