A new role for the court

Abstract

Every Dutch person has to deal with the court on average once in his life. There is a good chance that if this happens, you will have to deal with the subdistrict judge. In The Netherlands, this judge is the most accessible form for justice in (legal) conflicts. The subdistrict judge is relatively cheap, fast and deals with a big range of topics. However, in practice, questions can be put about the actual accessibility. Currently, defendants often do not take action when receiving a summons, appear at the wrong moment at the court or have wrong expectations of the subdistrict judge. As a result, there is a good chance that legal processes escalate unnecessarily and that defendants do not receive the right help for underlying problems. All these aspects ensure that the court cannot properly provide its core service: provide justice. Traditionally, the court can be seen as a wise old man on a hill, waiting for people on the top. However, waiting for the arrival of defendants at the court is often too late. Therefore, the court needs to take up an active role in activating, informing and guiding defendants before going to court. Precisely because of the neutral position of the court, the court should create a level playing field: offer equal access to all people. This new role should take shape by extending the service of the court with three new touchpoints: A visual leaflet as a neutral starting point, An online environment to experience the court in advance and An online and physical helpdesk for human guidance and questions. Hereby, the first session in court (roll session) can be changed to a more personal setting, without the formality and expectations of an actual judge. In this way, the roll session becomes a session fitting to its content: a qualitative moment for verbal responses. After implementing the service, more defendants are expected to take a right legal decision in their situation, to appear in court at the right moment and to have a better court experience. In the longer term, more people will have a realistic view of the court and the general sense of justice is expected to rise.