Samenvatting

Academic perceptions of litigation rates are dispersed: they vary from observations of a ‘litigation explosion’ to empirical accounts of ‘vanishing trials’. In this article the authors study whether civil trials are increasing or vanishing in the Netherlands. To find out, the authors studied trends in the number of civil cases in the Dutch courts. First, they observed developments in the filings as well as the dispositions of civil cases over the past 25 years, taking into account the trial-likeness of the procedures. Second, they put the Dutch figures - including other indicators of legal activity - in a European perspective. The findings show that the number of court cases in the Netherlands is on the rise. This does not automatically imply, however, that the Netherlands are a highly litigious society. ‘Light’ versions of trials are predominant, as is efficiency in the management of cases. Moreover, the number of lawyers and judges is rather small compared to other European countries.