Netherlands · Area of law · Europees civiel recht
European civil law in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 74 published decisions carry the European civil law label (Europees civiel recht) in the Netherlands, 131% more than in 2024. They come from 10 of the 19 courts, and Rechtbank Amsterdam accounts for 59% of them. Together they make up 0.1% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 202574+131% over one year
- Share of all published decisions0.1%of the 64,124 decisions of the 19 courts
- Courts with decisions10 of 198 district courts, 2 courts of appeal, 0 highest courts
- Largest countRechtbank Amsterdam44 decisions, 59% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the European 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, 74 published decisions carry this label, 131% more than in 2024, from 10 of the 19 courts. Rechtbank Amsterdam accounts for 44 (59%), followed by Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch (11) and Rechtbank Den Haag (9). By level, district courts account for 84%, courts of appeal for 16%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 44 | 59% | 1.6% |
| Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch | Court of appeal | 11 | 15% | 0.8% |
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 9 | 12% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 3 | 4.1% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Holland | District court | 2 | 2.7% | under 0.1% |
| Gerechtshof Den Haag | Court of appeal | 1 | 1.4% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 1 | 1.4% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Limburg | District court | 1 | 1.4% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 1 | 1.4% | under 0.1% |
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 1 | 1.4% | under 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 European 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 European civil law decisions went from 3 in 2013 to 74 in 2025. These decisions were 0.1% of all published decisions in 2025 and under 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 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | under 0.1% |
| 2014 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | under 0.1% |
| 2015 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | under 0.1% |
| 2016 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | under 0.1% |
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 13 | under 0.1% |
| 2018 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 16 | under 0.1% |
| 2019 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 20 | under 0.1% |
| 2020 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 15 | under 0.1% |
| 2021 | 21 | 13 | 2 | 36 | under 0.1% |
| 2022 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 17 | under 0.1% |
| 2023 | 18 | 12 | 0 | 30 | under 0.1% |
| 2024 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 32 | under 0.1% |
| 2025 | 62 | 12 | 0 | 74 | 0.1% |
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 European civil law beside the group it belongs to and the other detailed areas of that group.
European civil law decisions are 0.3% of the 25,207 published in 2025 under the civil law label. Other detailed areas of the group include family law (7,005), contract and liability law (5,818) and employment law (1,089).
| Area of law | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil law | 25,207 | – | +14% |
| European civil law | 74 | 0.3% | +131% |
| 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% |
| Private international law | 65 | 0.3% | +81% |
| Competition law (civil) | 14 | under 0.1% | – |
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What European civil law covers
Decisions carrying this label are civil cases in which rules of the European Union are applied or interpreted, in fields such as consumer protection and cross-border disputes. In 2025, 74 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. A court can ask the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling on a question of EU law. In 2025, published decisions with this label came from 10 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 European 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 European civil law decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Amsterdam alone published 59% of them, so the national count largely reflects the publication of that court. 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 European civil law decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 74 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the European civil law label, 131% more than in 2024. They come from 10 of the 19 courts covered here and make up 0.1% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish European civil law decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Amsterdam published 44 of them, followed by Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch (11) and Rechtbank Den Haag (9). District courts account for 84% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 16% and the highest courts for 0%.
Has the number of published European civil law decisions changed over time?
The number of published European civil law decisions went from 3 in 2013 to 74 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from under 0.1% in 2013 to 0.1% in 2025.
What does European civil law cover?
Decisions carrying this label are civil cases in which rules of the European Union are applied or interpreted, in fields such as consumer protection and cross-border disputes.
Do these figures show how many European 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.