WILLEMSTAD - The inflow of new first instance cases at the Joint Court of Justice increased by two percent in 2023. This marks the third consecutive increase since 2021. Despite this increase, the number of new cases remains below the pre-COVID pandemic level. This is reported in the 2023 annual report published today by the Court.
In total, over 37,000 new cases were registered in 2023. The increase is mainly seen in civil law (four percent) and criminal law (five percent). However, there is a decrease in administrative law, primarily in the number of tax cases at the Curaçao location. The total outflow of first instance cases was nearly 38,000, an increase of five percent compared to last year. The largest increase in outflow was again in civil law (six percent) and criminal law (five percent).
The slight increase in the inflow of civil cases is attributed to the deployment of additional capacity to clear backlogs. This also resulted in a higher outflow in this legal area.
Appeals
In appeals, there is a decrease. The total inflow of appeals cases fell by five percent to nearly eleven hundred cases. There was a significant decrease of 26 percent in administrative law cases, while civil law and criminal law saw slight increases of one percent and eight percent, respectively.
The outflow of appeals cases also decreased, with a drop of six percent to just over twelve hundred cases. This decrease is mainly due to the lower outflow of tax cases at the BES and Curaçao locations and the lower outflow of civil servant cases at the Aruba and Curaçao locations.