The Supreme Court and society

Open house

Court cases are public affairs in the Netherlands, which means that the Supreme Court also has rooms open to the public. These are our courtrooms. People are welcome to register as visitors to public hearings or decisions. Sometimes the Supreme Court offers the possibility of following a hearing using an online connection. In 2024, three public hearings were streamed to provide remote access to people not physically present in The Hague. These were cases that were known to arouse great interest, namely the Supreme Court's judgment in two cases on permitting same-sex marriage in Aruba and Curaçao on 12 July 2024, its judgment in five cases on the levy of income tax in box 3 following the introduction of the Box 3 Legal Redress Act (Wet rechtsherstel box 3) on 6 June 2024, and the oral arguments in the case on the export and transfer of parts for F-35 fighter jets to Israel on 6 September 2024.

Pupils, students at colleges, universities and vocational schools, lawyers and other groups can visit the Supreme Court on appointment, and they do so regularly. The purpose of such visits is for them to obtain an understanding of our work and to generate interest in the work of the Supreme Court and the Procurator General's Office at the Supreme Court.

One Saturday every year, the Supreme Court organises an open day featuring a programme in both courtrooms in which the public engages in conversation with Advocates General, justices, the Procurator General and the President of the Supreme Court. Special cases heard by the Supreme Court are explained and the public has the opportunity to participate in roleplaying games in chambers. Since 2023, the parties participating in the Week of the Rule of Law (Week van de Rechtsstaat) have jointly organised their open days with a guided tour (Rondje Rechtsstaat). In June 2024, the Supreme Court welcomed about 1,000 visitors.

During the Week of the Rule of Law held on 5 June 2024, it organised a public meeting entitled: "What does the rule of law mean to you?" Themes discussed included the importance of feeling in control of one’s own life and how regulators, the executive branch and citizens have different perspectives on the law. The proceeds from the meeting were shared with the organisers of the Day of the Law, who dedicated a separate workshop to this.

Lastly, the Supreme Court receives many foreign visitors. Delegations of judges and members of foreign prosecutors' offices meet with their counterparts in the Netherlands to learn from each other and exchange ideas and experiences. For example, in December 2024, an Indonesian delegation visited the Supreme Court as part of the cooperation between Mahkamah Agung (the Supreme Court of Indonesia) and the Supreme Court.

Contact with other judicial authorities

As a court of cassation, the Supreme Court assesses in cassation proceedings whether an authority in a previous instance correctly applied the law, gave adequate reasons for the judgment and followed the correct procedure. A Supreme Court judgment sets out the results of that assessment and is thus also a means by which the Supreme Court performs its core tasks. If in fact-finding instances there is any ambiguity in case law as to how a rule of law must be interpreted and applied, the Supreme Court can provide clarity by using a specific case to clarify that interpretation and application. Preliminary ruling proceedings are a means for judges in fact-finding instances to ask the Supreme Court for such clarity in pending cases. The Supreme Court considers it important for its judgments to be embedded in legal practice and, for that reason too, maintains contacts with the courts in fact-finding instances. This does not apply to pending cases. The main focus is the exchange of more general information and sharing of experiences, with the aim of ensuring the quality of court decisions in a general sense.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body, both for the Netherlands (in Europe) and for the overseas territories of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, namely Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The Supreme Court maintains various contacts with the courts in these territories. Every year, for example, the President of the Supreme Court or the Procurator General at the Supreme Court pay a working visit to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. During these visits, they exchange information and experiences on the administration of justice in society. In 2024, the Procurator General paid a working visit.

The end of 2024 marked the 70th anniversary of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In October 2024, the Office of the Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba organised a symposium in The Hague entitled "Verbondenheid. 70 jaar Statuut van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden" (“Interconnectedness. 70th anniversary of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands”). The symposium reflected on the meaning of 70 years of the Charter for the countries within the Kingdom and discussed the future relationship between them. During the event, the President of the Supreme Court gave a speech in which she discussed the effect of the countries’ interconnectedness under the Charter on the administration of justice. She spoke about the organisation of the judiciary in the Kingdom and shared some observations on how it works in practice.

Members of the Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor's Office pay working visits to foreign judicial authorities on a regular basis. In 2024, they paid working visits to the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, Germany (Bundesverfassungsgericht), the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in London and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. During such visits they enter into a dialogue on the administration of justice on specific themes, such as the democratic state under the rule of law, the protection of fundamental rights and current developments.

In 2024, the Supreme Court hosted various foreign delegations and provided hospitality to members of the Constitutional Court of Latvia on a working visit to the Supreme Court.

Ongoing cooperation with the Supreme Court of Indonesia and the High Court of Justice of Suriname

In 2024, the Supreme Court consolidated its long-term cooperation with the Supreme Court of Indonesia (Mahkamah Agung), entering into new agreements in a Memorandum of Understanding in 2024. Both parties have long considered their mutual exchange of knowledge and experience as very valuable.

The Supreme Court and the High Court of Justice of Suriname maintain a cooperative relationship in the interest administering justice within their respective countries under the rule of law. Suriname law is part of the Dutch family of law. Dutch legal sources are used in Suriname on a regular basis. Working visits and meetings (including digital meetings) in which justices and Advocates General participate in the exchange of knowledge offer support in safeguarding and promoting the development of law, uniformity of law and legal protection in both countries. The High Court of Justice has access to the Knowledge Portal, the Supreme Court's legal digital platform where public knowledge resources can be accessed. A congress was held in Paramaribo in 2024 to mark the 155th anniversary of the judicial system in Suriname. During the event, which was organised by the High Court of Justice of Suriname, the President of the Supreme Court and the Procurator General at the Supreme Court gave speeches on the value of court rulings in society and the system of the democratic state under rule of law. The Procurator General also spoke with a group of Surinamese trainee judges. In 2024, Advocate General Lodewijk Valk was appointed Commander in the Honorary Order of the Palm (Commandeur in de Ereorde van de Palm) in Suriname for his service to Surinamese law, in particular the administration of justice in Suriname.

Clarity of expression

Advisory opinions of the Procurator General's Office at the Supreme Court and judgments of the Supreme Court can have a major impact on society. It is then magnified when people understand what such opinions and judgments actually say. However, the requirements of precision and care are sometimes at odds with the requirement of intelligibility. To work towards maximum intelligibility, the Supreme Court organises annual training courses for new employees in which they learn how to write comprehensibly for non-jurists. Furthermore, many cases are the subject of news reports whose object is to make the advisory opinion or judgment (which are published in anonymised form on www.rechtspraak.nl) more understandable to the media and the general public.

One of the Procurator General’s special tasks is to handle complaints about the conduct of judges. Every year, the Procurator General receives more than 100 letters in this regard. However, for many people it is not exactly clear which complaints can and cannot be taken into consideration. In order to make this clear, a group of employees has written an informative leaflet. It explains as clearly as possible to anyone who has or wishes to file a complaint about a judge how the arrangement works.

In 2024, the Supreme Court held what is called a reflection meeting, where a group of 'users' of our judgments was asked what they thought of their intelligibility. Consisting of judges, lawyers, public prosecutors and employees of consumer organisations, the group provided very useful feedback, which the Supreme Court will take into account in its efforts to maintain clarity of expression.

Publication of previous judgments

The Supreme Court is well aware of the social interest in making judgments from before the year 2000 available online (and in fact its social duty to do so) (free of charge). In 2019, it published the first 150 of such judgments, including any corresponding advisory opinions that were issued and are still available. In subsequent years, including in 2024, the Supreme Court continued to do so. By 2024, it had published more than 300 previous judgments on rechtspraak.nl. In the same year, the Supreme Court issued regular news reports providing information on recent publications of such judgments.

Digital litigation in civil cases referred for preliminary rulings

On 1 May 2024, the Supreme Court started imposing mandatory digital litigation in civil cases referred for preliminary rulings. Civil cases referred for preliminary rulings are proceedings in which a District Court or Court of Appeal in a civil case decides, at the request of the parties or ex officio, to refer a question of law to the Supreme Court. They may do so if the answer to this question of law is relevant to a large number of other cases pending before them.

The digital litigation requirement applies to parties who apply to the Supreme Court in preliminary ruling proceedings through a civil cassation lawyer. In principle, once the parties have appointed a cassation lawyer, all communication takes place through the web portal. If the Supreme Court allows third parties to submit written comments, they must also do so on the web portal. The District Courts and Courts of Appeal have the option of referring questions for a preliminary ruling digitally, but this is not compulsory.

Civil actions by claim and by application before the Supreme Court were already subject to the digital litigation requirement. Making digital litigation mandatory in civil cases referred for preliminary rulings means that the method of litigation is now uniform for all civil proceedings before the Supreme Court. This simplifies things for all parties involved, including for civil cassation lawyers at the Supreme Court and the Registry. Digital litigation was also already largely mandatory in criminal and tax cases.

Information on pending civil cases available digitally

A list of cases pending before the Civil Division of the Supreme Court has been posted on the Supreme Court's website since 1 November 2024. This means that anyone can find the cases online and follow their progress. A case is listed from the time it is pending before the Supreme Court. In most cases, this is on or shortly after the date when the Initiating Document is filed. The list includes cases referred for preliminary rulings and claims for cassation in the interest of the law. In the course of proceedings, various stages of the proceedings are made visible, such as "debate between the parties", "oral arguments", "pending before the Procurator General's Office", "pending before the court" and “decision issued". The list also includes links to the judgment in the previous instance, the Procurator General's advisory opinion and the Supreme Court judgment. Cases remain on the list up to six months after the judgment.

The improved provision of information on civil proceedings is based on a Supreme Court judgment of 21 April 2023 (ECLI:NL:HR:2023:658). That judgment addresses the meaning of the principle of open justice and related legal provisions.

The Supreme Court in the media

Many cases heard by the Supreme Court have the attention of the media and/or the public. This was also the case in 2024. The Supreme Court answered many case-related and procedural questions from the media by telephone and email. A large number of news reports on cases were also published.

The following cases received particular media attention in 2024.

Box 3

On 6 June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in five cases on the levy of income tax in box 3 after the introduction of the Box 3 Legal Redress Act (the Redress Act). The Supreme Court's earlier Box 3 judgments already attracted considerable interest from the press, the public and politicians, and the case on the Redress Act also drew much attention. The judgment was handed down orally. The hearing was livestreamed and followed by thousands of people. The press was present at the actual judgment and requested clarification from the spokesperson afterwards. A press release on the judgment was also published.

Same-sex marriage in Aruba and Curaçao

The Caribbean press also displayed great interest in the case on same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court issued its judgment on 12 July 2024. Given the time difference, it did so at 2pm rather than the standard time of 10am. It was also livestreamed. The press release regarding the judgment has been translated into Papiamento and Papiamentu.

Export of F-35 parts to Israel

In the case concerning the export and transfer of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, the Supreme Court received many questions from the media about whether or not the State should initiate cassation proceedings. After cassation proceedings were initiated, the request from one of the parties to hold oral arguments was granted. Due to the considerable interest both from the Netherlands and abroad, the oral arguments were livestreamed in both Dutch and English.

The advisory opinion of the Advocate General issued at the end of November 2024 has been translated into English, as has the accompanying press release (English translation). The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its judgment in the spring of 2025.

"Order button cases"

Preliminary ruling proceedings also attracted the interest of the press and the public. This was particularly true of the cases concerning the text on the online "order” button. In response to questions referred for a preliminary ruling, the Supreme Court, applying European Union law, held that a webshop’s order button displaying the text "order", "place order" or "complete order" does not make it sufficiently clear that the consumer is entering into a payment obligation. As a result, the purchase agreement may be annulled wholly or in part. The cases have great practical importance, for both online shopping and court collections, and therefore received a lot of media attention. A press release was published when the judgments were issued.

Rent adjustment clause

Another case referred for a preliminary ruling that received close media attention concerned a rent adjustment clause in a lease for residential space in non-subsidised housing. The Supreme Court ruled that a rent adjustment clause providing for an annual mark-up on the rent of up to 3% on top of the consumer price index is generally not an unfair clause. It thus concurred with the opinion of the Deputy Procurator General. The case attracted the attention of the media even before the judgment. Both the deputy Procurator General's advisory opinion and the Supreme Court's judgment were therefore accompanied by a press release.

Supervision reports by the Procurator General at the Supreme Court on the performance of the Public Prosecution Service

There was also media attention for the investigations conducted by the procurator General at the Supreme Court in the context of their supervisory role of the Public Prosecution Service (OM). In January 2024 supervision reports were published on the practice of release on probation and the way the Public Prosecution Service performs its duties in relation to witness protection. Following the presentation of the supervision reports to the Ministry of Justice and Security, the supervision reports and related press releases were published (press release ‘Special conditions regarding release on probation’ and press release ‘Duty of care and witness protection’). In November 2024, the results of the Procurator General's investigation into the Public Prosecution Service's performance in the years leading up to the Turfmarkt stabbing incident in The Hague were published. This was the first incident investigation initiated by the Procurator General; previous supervision studies were mainly of a thematic nature.  The investigation supplemented the investigation conducted by the Inspectorate of Justice and Security. The presentation and publication of the supervision report were announced in a press release. The publication of the supervision report was also accompanied by a press release. An interview with the attorney general was also published in a national daily newspaper about this case and about his supervisory role in general.

Social media and news service

The Supreme Court uses LinkedIn and Instagram. It does so for different purposes and audiences: LinkedIn for news about cases and personnel matters, Instagram for public information about events and student visits. On both platforms, the number of followers grew in 2024.

The Supreme Court further extended its reach with the introduction of a news service. Media and other interested parties can subscribe to a Supreme Court digital newsletter free of charge, indicating the categories they want to receive news about. They then receive an automatic email notification as soon as a news item in the relevant category is posted on the Supreme Court's website. Professional media, regional media and national media thus receive specific notifications.

In 2024, the Supreme Court published nearly 135 news items about cases. It also started posting legal alerts on LinkedIn in 2024. These alerts are linked to cases involving matters that are important from a legal perspective. Whilst the news items are aimed particularly at the media and the general public, the target audience of these legal alerts is mainly in the legal domain, including law students.