Netherlands · Broad group of areas of law · Bestuursrecht
Administrative law in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 38,907 published decisions carry the administrative law label (Bestuursrecht) in the Netherlands, 10% more than in 2024. They come from all 19 courts, and Rechtbank Den Haag accounts for 40% of them. Together they make up 61% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 202538,907+10% over one year
- Share of all published decisions61%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Courts with decisionsAll 1911 district courts, 4 courts of appeal, 4 highest courts
- Largest countRechtbank Den Haag15,574 decisions, 40% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the administrative law label, with the number of decisions, the share of all decisions with this label and the weight of this area in each court's own published decisions.
In 2025, 38,907 published decisions carry this label, 10% more than in 2024, from all 19 courts. Rechtbank Den Haag accounts for 15,574 (40%), followed by Raad van State (5,549) and Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant (3,501). By level, district courts account for 73%, courts of appeal for 4.6% and the highest courts for 23%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 15,574 | 40% | 84% |
| Raad van State | Highest administrative court | 5,549 | 14% | 100% |
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 3,501 | 9% | 58% |
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 3,287 | 8.4% | 64% |
| Centrale Raad van Beroep | Highest administrative court | 1,900 | 4.9% | 100% |
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 1,187 | 3.1% | 26% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Holland | District court | 883 | 2.3% | 25% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Nederland | District court | 838 | 2.2% | 65% |
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 817 | 2.1% | 30% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 804 | 2.1% | 39% |
| Hoge Raad | Supreme Court | 701 | 1.8% | 71% |
| College van Beroep voor het bedrijfsleven | Highest administrative court | 688 | 1.8% | 100% |
| Gerechtshof Arnhem-Leeuwarden | Court of appeal | 688 | 1.8% | 26% |
| Rechtbank Overijssel | District court | 544 | 1.4% | 33% |
| Gerechtshof Den Haag | Court of appeal | 486 | 1.2% | 38% |
| Rechtbank Oost-Brabant | District court | 473 | 1.2% | 44% |
| Rechtbank Limburg | District court | 361 | 0.9% | 25% |
| Gerechtshof Amsterdam | Court of appeal | 322 | 0.8% | 20% |
| Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch | Court of appeal | 304 | 0.8% | 23% |
Published decisions only: each court publishes a different share of its rulings, so these counts are not caseloads and cannot be compared as workloads.
Decisions year by year
This chart follows, year by year, the number of published decisions that carry the administrative law label. The volume measures what is published, not the number of cases brought in the same year.
Over the period, the number of published administrative law decisions went from 14,736 in 2013 to 38,907 in 2025 (+164%). These decisions were 61% of all published decisions in 2025 and 62% in 2013.
- District courts
- Courts of appeal
- Highest courts
| Year | District courts | Courts of appeal | Highest courts | Total | Share of all decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3,097 | 1,245 | 10,394 | 14,736 | 62% |
| 2014 | 3,391 | 1,064 | 10,377 | 14,832 | 61% |
| 2015 | 3,802 | 1,128 | 9,886 | 14,816 | 58% |
| 2016 | 4,263 | 1,271 | 9,479 | 15,013 | 59% |
| 2017 | 5,085 | 1,379 | 8,907 | 15,371 | 58% |
| 2018 | 5,719 | 1,019 | 9,503 | 16,241 | 59% |
| 2019 | 5,265 | 1,274 | 9,919 | 16,458 | 58% |
| 2020 | 10,369 | 1,564 | 8,510 | 20,443 | 56% |
| 2021 | 14,497 | 1,620 | 8,248 | 24,365 | 59% |
| 2022 | 16,252 | 1,620 | 8,225 | 26,097 | 59% |
| 2023 | 21,446 | 1,689 | 8,710 | 31,845 | 61% |
| 2024 | 24,319 | 1,869 | 9,226 | 35,414 | 62% |
| 2025 | 28,269 | 1,800 | 8,838 | 38,907 | 61% |
Series start in 2013, the first year of the current court map. The series reflect what courts publish and how decisions are labelled as well as what they decide.
Detailed areas
A broad group gathers detailed areas of law. The table lists those with published decisions in 2025, with their share of the group.
8 detailed areas have with decisions in 2025 under the administrative law label. Immigration law is the largest, with 16,353 decisions (42% of the group), followed by tax law (5,173) and social security law (3,996). Together the detailed areas carry 30,150 labels for the group's 38,907 decisions: at least 8,757 decisions carry only the broad label.
- Immigration law
- Tax law
- Social security law
- Administrative procedure
- Planning and environmental law
- Civil service law
- European administrative law
- Competition law (administrative)
| Detailed area | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration law | 16,353 | 42% | +16% |
| Tax law | 5,173 | 13% | −3% |
| Social security law | 3,996 | 10% | −7% |
| Administrative procedure | 2,505 | 6.4% | +19% |
| Planning and environmental law | 2,001 | 5.1% | +28% |
| Civil service law | 116 | 0.3% | −28% |
| European administrative law | 3 | under 0.1% | – |
| Competition law (administrative) | 3 | under 0.1% | – |
See also Civil law
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What administrative law covers
Administrative law covers disputes between individuals or companies and public bodies such as a municipality, a ministry, the tax authority or an implementing agency: a refused permit, a benefit decision, a tax assessment, a residence decision, a fine imposed by an authority. In most cases the person concerned first lodges an objection with the public body itself, and a court is seized only after that decision. In 2025, 38,907 published decisions carried this label.
Which courts hear these cases
Most administrative cases begin in a district court. Appeals then go to the Council of State for immigration, planning, environment and most other subjects, to the Central Appeals Tribunal for social security and civil service cases, to the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal for economic regulation, and to a court of appeal and the Hoge Raad for tax cases. A few matters, such as challenges to zoning plans, go straight to the Council of State. In 2025, published decisions with this label came from 19 of the 19 courts.
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. For administrative law, the published decisions of 2025 are those counted; they are not the number of cases brought.
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 these figures with care
The number of published administrative law decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Den Haag alone published 40% of them, and the decisions come from 19 courts. 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 administrative law decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 38,907 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the administrative law label, 10% more than in 2024. They come from all 19 courts covered here and make up 61% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish administrative law decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Den Haag published 15,574 of them, followed by Raad van State (5,549) and Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant (3,501). District courts account for 73% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 4.6% and the highest courts for 23%.
Has the number of published administrative law decisions changed over time?
The number of published administrative law decisions went from 14,736 in 2013 to 38,907 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from 62% in 2013 to 61% in 2025.
What does administrative law cover?
Administrative law covers disputes between individuals or companies and public bodies such as a municipality, a ministry, the tax authority or an implementing agency: a refused permit, a benefit decision, a tax assessment, a residence decision, a fine imposed by an authority.
Do these figures show how many administrative law cases are brought?
No. They count decisions published on rechtspraak.nl, a selection of all rulings, and a case can produce several decisions. The counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.