Netherlands · Area of law · Bestuursprocesrecht
Administrative procedure in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 2,505 published decisions carry the administrative procedure label (Bestuursprocesrecht) in the Netherlands, 19% more than in 2024. They come from 13 of the 19 courts, and Rechtbank Midden-Nederland accounts for 50% of them. Together they make up 3.9% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 20252,505+19% over one year
- Share of all published decisions3.9%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Courts with decisions13 of 1910 district courts, 2 courts of appeal, 1 highest court
- Largest countRechtbank Midden-Nederland1,242 decisions, 50% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the administrative procedure 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, 2,505 published decisions carry this label, 19% more than in 2024, from 13 of the 19 courts. Rechtbank Midden-Nederland accounts for 1,242 (50%), followed by Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant (357) and Rechtbank Gelderland (258). By level, district courts account for 100%, courts of appeal for 0.3% and the highest courts for under 0.1%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 1,242 | 50% | 24% |
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 357 | 14% | 5.9% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 258 | 10% | 12% |
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 190 | 7.6% | 6.9% |
| Rechtbank Overijssel | District court | 150 | 6% | 9.1% |
| Rechtbank Oost-Brabant | District court | 144 | 5.7% | 13% |
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 76 | 3% | 1.6% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Holland | District court | 34 | 1.4% | 1% |
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 31 | 1.2% | 0.2% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Nederland | District court | 15 | 0.6% | 1.2% |
| Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch | Court of appeal | 6 | 0.2% | 0.5% |
| Gerechtshof Arnhem-Leeuwarden | Court of appeal | 1 | under 0.1% | under 0.1% |
| Hoge Raad | Supreme Court | 1 | under 0.1% | 0.1% |
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 procedure 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 procedure decisions went from 30 in 2013 to 2,505 in 2025. These decisions were 3.9% of all published decisions in 2025 and 0.1% in 2013.
- District courts
- Courts of appeal
- Highest courts
| Year | District courts | Courts of appeal | Highest courts | Total | Share of all decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 75 | 2 | 3 | 80 | 0.3% |
| 2015 | 225 | 5 | 7 | 237 | 0.9% |
| 2016 | 189 | 1 | 3 | 193 | 0.8% |
| 2017 | 175 | 2 | 0 | 177 | 0.7% |
| 2018 | 223 | 0 | 0 | 223 | 0.8% |
| 2019 | 201 | 0 | 2 | 203 | 0.7% |
| 2020 | 469 | 6 | 1 | 476 | 1.3% |
| 2021 | 532 | 2 | 0 | 534 | 1.3% |
| 2022 | 660 | 5 | 0 | 665 | 1.5% |
| 2023 | 969 | 2 | 0 | 971 | 1.9% |
| 2024 | 2,097 | 5 | 0 | 2,102 | 3.7% |
| 2025 | 2,497 | 7 | 1 | 2,505 | 3.9% |
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.
Related areas
Each detailed area belongs to one of three broad groups of areas of law. The table sets administrative procedure beside the group it belongs to and the other detailed areas of that group.
Administrative procedure decisions are 6.4% of the 38,907 published in 2025 under the administrative law label. Other detailed areas of the group include immigration law (16,353), tax law (5,173) and social security law (3,996).
| Area of law | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative law | 38,907 | – | +10% |
| Administrative procedure | 2,505 | 6.4% | +19% |
| Immigration law | 16,353 | 42% | +16% |
| Tax law | 5,173 | 13% | −3% |
| Social security law | 3,996 | 10% | −7% |
| 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% | – |
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What administrative procedure covers
This label is given to decisions that turn on the procedure followed in administrative cases rather than on one field of law: time limits, the admissibility of an appeal, the costs of proceedings, penalty payments when a public body fails to decide in time, and compensation for proceedings that take too long. In 2025, 2,505 published decisions carried this label.
Which courts hear these cases
These questions arise before every administrative court: the district courts, the Council of State, the Central Appeals Tribunal and the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal. In 2025, published decisions with this label came from 13 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 procedure, 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 procedure decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Midden-Nederland alone published 50% of them, and the decisions come from 13 courts. The number of detailed area labels per published decision went from 0.46 in 2013 to 0.73 in 2025, so the evolution of a detailed area also reflects how often these labels are applied. 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 procedure decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 2,505 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the administrative procedure label, 19% more than in 2024. They come from 13 of the 19 courts covered here and make up 3.9% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish administrative procedure decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Midden-Nederland published 1,242 of them, followed by Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant (357) and Rechtbank Gelderland (258). District courts account for 100% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 0.3% and the highest courts for under 0.1%.
Has the number of published administrative procedure decisions changed over time?
The number of published administrative procedure decisions went from 30 in 2013 to 2,505 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from 0.1% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2025.
What does administrative procedure cover?
This label is given to decisions that turn on the procedure followed in administrative cases rather than on one field of law: time limits, the admissibility of an appeal, the costs of proceedings, penalty payments when a public body fails to decide in time, and compensation for proceedings that take too long.
Do these figures show how many administrative procedure 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.