Judiciary system funded by mixed method
Dutch judiciary system funded by performance-based funding since 2002
Since 2002 the funds the Minister of Security and Justice reserves on his budget for the judiciary system every year have been based on the number of cases dealt with by the courts. The Court of Audit found that this funding method has significantly improved cost control since 2002. The Minister, however, stopped implementing the system of performance-based funding as originally intended in 2010. Owing in part to budgetary restrictions the minister has been funding fewer cases in advance. The higher productivity is funded in arrears, but not in full. The courts are therefore having to draw on their reserves in order to administer justice. The consequences of this mixed funding method for the quality of the judiciary system are not known. These findings are presented in a report entitled, Funding the Judiciary System; consequences for efficiency, published today by the Court of Audit.