A Dutch courtroom. Photo: Odi Busman
The public prosecution department is dropping hundreds of court cases in Gelderland because there are not enough judges to deal with them.
The Oost-Nederland division described the measure as ‘drastic’ but said it is essential to cut back on the number of cases waiting to be dealt with. The backlog which built up during the coronavirus period and increasing complexity of cases are also having an impact, the department said.
The cases which are being dropped are all at least 18 months old and involve crimes with a maximum jail term of one year, including petty theft, traffic offences or the possession of cannabis.
In total, some 1,500 cases will either be dropped or settled with a fine or community service.
Although the courts are struggling to deal with their case loads in other parts of the country, no other department is considering such steps.
‘We need our judges to deal with other cases such as divorce, or supervision orders and labour conflicts, so that people can get on with their lives,’ Gelderland court president Rémy van Leest said.
The department and the court said that they regretted the pain that the decision would cause to the victims of crime. They will be able to appeal.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl
The DutchNews.nl team would like to thank all the generous readers who have made a donation in recent weeks. Your financial support has helped us to expand our coverage of the coronavirus crisis into the evenings and weekends and make sure you are kept up to date with the latest developments.
DutchNews.nl has been free for 14 years, but without the financial backing of our readers, we would not be able to provide you with fair and accurate news and features about all things Dutch. Your contributions make this possible.
If you have not yet made a donation, but would like to,
you can do so via Ideal, credit card or Paypal.
Source: Dutch News
