The highest court in civil, criminal and tax cases, reviewing whether lower courts applied and reasoned the law correctly rather than re-examining the facts. It cannot test Acts of Parliament against the Constitution, but it can and does disapply statute that conflicts with directly effective treaty law. It is assisted by an independent Procurator General whose advocates general deliver reasoned advisory opinions before judgment.
How the court is constituted
- Tier
- supreme
- Court type
- Court of cassation in civil, criminal and tax matters
- Jurisdiction
- National — points of law only
- Seat
- The Hague
- Established
- 1838
- Composition
- Around 35 justices sitting in chambers of three or five, organised in civil, criminal and tax divisions.
- Appointment
- Appointed for life by royal decree from a list drawn up in practice on the recommendation of the court itself, with retirement at 70.
- Languages
- Dutch
Where an appeal goes next
None; cassation is the final domestic instance.
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