Internal complaint cases

The Supreme Court’s internal complaints regulation entitles everyone to submit a complaint to the President of the Supreme Court regarding the manner in which the Supreme Court, a member of the Supreme Court or the clerk of the Supreme Court has conducted themselves towards the complainant on a given occasion. Complaints cannot be filed in respect of conduct regarding which proceedings before a judicial instance are or were possible. Complaints also cannot be filed in respect of a judicial decision or the manner in which said decision came about, including the procedural decisions taken in this context. Complaints directed against the conduct of acting clerks will be attributed to the clerk of the Supreme Court in cases involving the exercise of powers conferred upon the clerk of the Supreme Court by law. These complaints will also be handled in the context of this complaint regulation.

Pursuant to the complaint regulation, an annual overview will be published of the registered and by the President addressed and concluded complaints.

Reporting period

In 2022, the President handled one complaint pursuant to the complaint regulation. The complaint was directed at a Vice-President of the Supreme Court. The complainant wrote to have been treated with contempt as his case at the Supreme Court had been decided through the application of Article 81(1) of the Judiciary (Organisation) Act. This complaint related to the reasoning underlying the judgment and thus the judicial decision itself. According to the complaint regulation, this cannot serve as the basis for a complaint, meaning that the complaint was manifestly ill-founded.

Other correspondence

The Supreme Court and the President of the Supreme Court also received letters and e-mails covering a wide range of topics in 2022. For example, some complained to the Supreme Court or the President because they were displeased with a judgment rendered by the Supreme Court or decisions rendered by other judicial bodies. Complaints were also received about a decision or a response from the Procurator General at the Supreme Court in the context of one of his particular tasks. These letters and e-mails do not fall within the scope of the complaint regulation and are generally responded to in that sense by the clerk of the Supreme Court.

Others drew the attention of the Supreme Court and/or the President to more general societal issues and their dissatisfaction with those issues, or to their own personal problems and issues. The clerk of the Supreme Court also handles this correspondence. In most cases, there was nothing the Supreme Court and/or the President could do for these individuals. Where possible, they were referred to other authorities or sources of legal assistance.