The evaluation and development of the quality of justice in The Netherlands

Judicial quality in the Netherlands has given rise to substantial debate and over the years judges, court boards, policy makers and the Dutch Council for the Judiciary have undertaken various actions to safeguard and improve this quality. Similar developments can be detected in other Member States of the European Union and within EU policy. One of the main questions concerning judicial quality is to what extent this quality should be evaluated and how this relates to political, professional and organizational aspects of the judiciary. After all, the judiciary consists of professionals with a constitutionally guaranteed independent position – the judges, in an organization that receives its main funding from Dutch Government (taxes). Hence, despite the independent nature of the professionals the current organizational features require public and
political accountabilities. The report before you discusses the Netherlands’s institutional context (chapter 2); classical judicial evaluation arrangements and resource allocations) (chapter 3); and finishes with a discussion on innovative practices regarding judicial evaluation (chapter 4).