Netherlands · Broad group of areas of law · Civiel recht
Civil law in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 25,207 published decisions carry the civil law label (Civiel recht) in the Netherlands, 14% more than in 2024. They come from 16 of the 19 courts, and Rechtbank Rotterdam accounts for 14% of them. Together they make up 39% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 202525,207+14% over one year
- Share of all published decisions39%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Courts with decisions16 of 1911 district courts, 4 courts of appeal, 1 highest court
- Largest countRechtbank Rotterdam3,426 decisions, 14% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the civil 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, 25,207 published decisions carry this label, 14% more than in 2024, from 16 of the 19 courts. Rechtbank Rotterdam accounts for 3,426 (14%), followed by Rechtbank Den Haag (2,872) and Rechtbank Noord-Holland (2,665). By level, district courts account for 79%, courts of appeal for 20% and the highest courts for 1.1%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 3,426 | 14% | 74% |
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 2,872 | 11% | 16% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Holland | District court | 2,665 | 11% | 75% |
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 2,575 | 10% | 42% |
| Gerechtshof Arnhem-Leeuwarden | Court of appeal | 1,994 | 7.9% | 74% |
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 1,908 | 7.6% | 70% |
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 1,853 | 7.4% | 36% |
| Gerechtshof Amsterdam | Court of appeal | 1,325 | 5.3% | 80% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 1,275 | 5.1% | 61% |
| Rechtbank Limburg | District court | 1,102 | 4.4% | 75% |
| Rechtbank Overijssel | District court | 1,097 | 4.4% | 67% |
| Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch | Court of appeal | 992 | 3.9% | 77% |
| Gerechtshof Den Haag | Court of appeal | 794 | 3.1% | 62% |
| Rechtbank Oost-Brabant | District court | 601 | 2.4% | 56% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Nederland | District court | 444 | 1.8% | 35% |
| Hoge Raad | Supreme Court | 284 | 1.1% | 29% |
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 civil 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 civil law decisions went from 9,143 in 2013 to 25,207 in 2025 (+176%). These decisions were 39% of all published decisions in 2025 and 38% in 2013.
- District courts
- Courts of appeal
- Highest courts
| Year | District courts | Courts of appeal | Highest courts | Total | Share of all decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4,593 | 3,923 | 627 | 9,143 | 38% |
| 2014 | 4,622 | 4,580 | 417 | 9,619 | 39% |
| 2015 | 5,038 | 5,033 | 452 | 10,523 | 41% |
| 2016 | 5,241 | 4,699 | 463 | 10,403 | 41% |
| 2017 | 5,925 | 4,730 | 453 | 11,108 | 42% |
| 2018 | 6,153 | 4,831 | 420 | 11,404 | 41% |
| 2019 | 6,232 | 5,190 | 349 | 11,771 | 42% |
| 2020 | 10,581 | 4,974 | 403 | 15,958 | 44% |
| 2021 | 11,183 | 5,360 | 379 | 16,922 | 41% |
| 2022 | 12,224 | 5,161 | 406 | 17,791 | 41% |
| 2023 | 14,620 | 4,983 | 401 | 20,004 | 39% |
| 2024 | 16,861 | 4,876 | 342 | 22,079 | 38% |
| 2025 | 19,818 | 5,105 | 284 | 25,207 | 39% |
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.
12 detailed areas have with decisions in 2025 under the civil law label. Family law is the largest, with 7,005 decisions (28% of the group), followed by contract and liability law (5,818) and employment law (1,089). Together the detailed areas carry 16,364 labels for the group's 25,207 decisions: at least 8,843 decisions carry only the broad label.
| Detailed area | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family law | 7,005 | 28% | +15% |
| Contract and liability law | 5,818 | 23% | +13% |
| Employment law | 1,089 | 4.3% | +4% |
| Insolvency law | 1,037 | 4.1% | +49% |
| Civil procedure | 589 | 2.3% | −1% |
| Company law | 326 | 1.3% | −2% |
| Property law | 142 | 0.6% | −2% |
| Intellectual property law | 121 | 0.5% | −1% |
| Public procurement law | 84 | 0.3% | +25% |
| European civil law | 74 | 0.3% | +131% |
| Private international law | 65 | 0.3% | +81% |
| Competition law (civil) | 14 | under 0.1% | – |
See also Administrative law
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What civil law covers
Civil law covers disputes between private parties, individuals or companies, and the rules on persons, family, property, contracts and companies: a divorce, a contract dispute, a dismissal, a bankruptcy, a claim for damages. In 2025, 25,207 published decisions carried this label.
Which courts hear these cases
Civil cases begin in a district court, whose subdistrict sector deals with smaller claims. Appeals go to a court of appeal, and the Hoge Raad rules in cassation on points of law. In 2025, published decisions with this label came from 16 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 civil 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 civil law decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Rotterdam alone published 14% of them, and the decisions come from 16 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 civil law decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 25,207 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the civil law label, 14% more than in 2024. They come from 16 of the 19 courts covered here and make up 39% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish civil law decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Rotterdam published 3,426 of them, followed by Rechtbank Den Haag (2,872) and Rechtbank Noord-Holland (2,665). District courts account for 79% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 20% and the highest courts for 1.1%.
Has the number of published civil law decisions changed over time?
The number of published civil law decisions went from 9,143 in 2013 to 25,207 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from 38% in 2013 to 39% in 2025.
What does civil law cover?
Civil law covers disputes between private parties, individuals or companies, and the rules on persons, family, property, contracts and companies: a divorce, a contract dispute, a dismissal, a bankruptcy, a claim for damages.
Do these figures show how many civil 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.