Netherlands · Area of law · Personen- en familierecht
Family law in the Netherlands: published decisions
In 2025, 7,005 published decisions carry the family law label (Personen- en familierecht) in the Netherlands, 15% more than in 2024. They come from 16 of the 19 courts, and Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant accounts for 21% of them. Together they make up 11% of the decisions published that year. These counts describe published case law, not the number of cases brought.
- Published decisions in 20257,005+15% over one year
- Share of all published decisions11%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 Zeeland-West-Brabant1,453 decisions, 21% of this area
Courts publishing these decisions
The table lists the courts whose published decisions in 2025 carry the family 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, 7,005 published decisions carry this label, 15% more than in 2024, from 16 of the 19 courts. Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant accounts for 1,453 (21%), followed by Rechtbank Den Haag (1,379) and Rechtbank Rotterdam (877). By level, district courts account for 78%, courts of appeal for 21% and the highest courts for 0.8%.
| Court | Level | Decisions 2025 | Share of this area | Share of the court's decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant | District court | 1,453 | 21% | 24% |
| Rechtbank Den Haag | District court | 1,379 | 20% | 7.5% |
| Rechtbank Rotterdam | District court | 877 | 13% | 19% |
| Gerechtshof Arnhem-Leeuwarden | Court of appeal | 540 | 7.7% | 20% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Holland | District court | 477 | 6.8% | 13% |
| Rechtbank Midden-Nederland | District court | 440 | 6.3% | 8.6% |
| Gerechtshof 's-Hertogenbosch | Court of appeal | 423 | 6% | 33% |
| Gerechtshof Amsterdam | Court of appeal | 369 | 5.3% | 22% |
| Rechtbank Amsterdam | District court | 224 | 3.2% | 8.2% |
| Rechtbank Gelderland | District court | 192 | 2.7% | 9.2% |
| Rechtbank Oost-Brabant | District court | 160 | 2.3% | 15% |
| Gerechtshof Den Haag | Court of appeal | 156 | 2.2% | 12% |
| Rechtbank Limburg | District court | 113 | 1.6% | 7.7% |
| Rechtbank Noord-Nederland | District court | 89 | 1.3% | 6.9% |
| Hoge Raad | Supreme Court | 57 | 0.8% | 5.8% |
| Rechtbank Overijssel | District court | 56 | 0.8% | 3.4% |
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 family 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 family law decisions went from 1,266 in 2013 to 7,005 in 2025 (+453%). These decisions were 11% of all published decisions in 2025 and 5.3% in 2013.
- District courts
- Courts of appeal
- Highest courts
| Year | District courts | Courts of appeal | Highest courts | Total | Share of all decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 386 | 853 | 27 | 1,266 | 5.3% |
| 2014 | 414 | 930 | 19 | 1,363 | 5.6% |
| 2015 | 459 | 1,121 | 56 | 1,636 | 6.4% |
| 2016 | 485 | 1,100 | 31 | 1,616 | 6.4% |
| 2017 | 533 | 1,213 | 36 | 1,782 | 6.7% |
| 2018 | 559 | 1,266 | 37 | 1,862 | 6.7% |
| 2019 | 766 | 1,369 | 24 | 2,159 | 7.6% |
| 2020 | 2,598 | 1,499 | 21 | 4,118 | 11% |
| 2021 | 2,077 | 1,869 | 46 | 3,992 | 10% |
| 2022 | 2,332 | 1,775 | 35 | 4,142 | 9.4% |
| 2023 | 3,262 | 1,786 | 27 | 5,075 | 10% |
| 2024 | 4,465 | 1,613 | 30 | 6,108 | 11% |
| 2025 | 5,460 | 1,488 | 57 | 7,005 | 11% |
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 family law beside the group it belongs to and the other detailed areas of that group.
Family law decisions are 28% of the 25,207 published in 2025 under the civil law label. Other detailed areas of the group include contract and liability law (5,818), employment law (1,089) and insolvency law (1,037).
| Area of law | Decisions 2025 | Share of the group | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil law | 25,207 | – | +14% |
| 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% | – |
A decision can carry several labels, so the detailed areas do not add up to the group.
Understanding these figures
What family law covers
Family law covers the legal status of persons and family relationships: divorce and its consequences, parental authority and contact arrangements, child and partner maintenance, guardianship and protective measures for adults, adoption, parentage and changes of name. In 2025, 7,005 published decisions carried this label.
Which courts hear these cases
These cases are heard by the district courts, with appeals to the courts of appeal and, on points of law, to the Hoge Raad. 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 family 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 family law decisions depends on how many cases reach the courts and on what the courts publish in this field. In 2025, Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant alone published 21% of them, and the decisions come from 16 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 family law decisions were published in the Netherlands in 2025?
In 2025, 7,005 decisions published on rechtspraak.nl carried the family law label, 15% more than in 2024. They come from 16 of the 19 courts covered here and make up 11% of all decisions published that year.
Which Dutch courts publish family law decisions?
In 2025, Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant published 1,453 of them, followed by Rechtbank Den Haag (1,379) and Rechtbank Rotterdam (877). District courts account for 78% of the decisions, courts of appeal for 21% and the highest courts for 0.8%.
Has the number of published family law decisions changed over time?
The number of published family law decisions went from 1,266 in 2013 to 7,005 in 2025. Their share of all published decisions went from 5.3% in 2013 to 11% in 2025.
What does family law cover?
Family law covers the legal status of persons and family relationships: divorce and its consequences, parental authority and contact arrangements, child and partner maintenance, guardianship and protective measures for adults, adoption, parentage and changes of name.
Do these figures show how many family 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.