Complaints and other correspondence

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 are or have been pending before a court. Complaints also cannot be filed in respect of a judicial decision or the manner in which said decision was arrived at, including the procedural decisions taken in that context. In cases involving the exercise of powers conferred upon the clerk of the Supreme Court by law, complaints directed against acting clerks will be attributed to the clerk of the Supreme Court. These complaints will also be handled in the context of this complaints regulation.

Pursuant to the complaints regulation, each year an overview is published of the registered complaints and of the complaints handled and settled by the President.

Complaints were also submitted to the Procurator General in the reporting year. More information about this can be found in the chapter The Procurator General's Office at the Supreme Court.

Reporting period

In 2024, the President handled one complaint pursuant to the complaint regulation. This complaint concerned members of the Supreme Court's challenge chamber. The complainant wrote that he wished to file a complaint regarding the way he was treated by the members in question. As this complaint concerned a judicial decision, in respect of which no complaints can be filed under the complaints regulation, no further consideration was given to the complaint.

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 2024. For example, some complained to the Supreme Court or the President because they were displeased about 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 their special duties. These letters and e-mails do not fall within the scope of the complaints regulation and that is generally the gist of the responses sent 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.