The Supreme Cassation Courts of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden)

Abstract

The text presents the development of the Dutch Supreme Cassation Court from the early 19th century onwards. The Court adopted the French model of cassation, which is reflected in two types of cassation proceedings: ordinary cassation appeals and cassation in the interest of the uniform application of the law. The text offers an outline of the organisation of the court, status of the Dutch Supreme Cassation Court’s judge as well as the layout of the Court’s chambers. Interestingly, although administrative matters are generally excluded from the Court’s scope of competence, an exception to this rule has been made for tax cases, which are examined by one of the Court’s chambers (the so-called “fiscal or tax chamber”). Additionally, the text not only discusses the question of influx of cases and duration of proceedings, but also presents comparative data with regard to each chamber of the court. The author also touches upon the system of consultations in each chamber, which positively affects the uniformity of the Court’s jurisprudence.