News item | 31-03-2026 | 4:00 PM
It should be permanently possible for judges to continue working as a deputy for another 3 years after the statutory dismissal age of 70. State Secretary for Justice and Security Claudia van Bruggen announced this today in a letter to the House of Representatives. It was already temporarily possible for judges to continue working as a substitute until the age of 73. A legislative amendment is being prepared that will make this deployment permanently possible.
State Secretary Van Bruggen: “In a constitutional state, justice must be delivered on time and of high quality. Naturally, this starts with having sufficient judges. By deploying experienced judges for a longer period of time, we retain their knowledge and skills and reduce the long processing times in the judiciary.”
Judges aged 70 and over are currently available as deputies thanks to a temporary law originally created in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. After an earlier extension of 3 years, the law will expire on November 16, 2026. The Judiciary still has a shortage of judges. That is why the employability of deputy judges aged 70 and over remains desirable. One of the main causes for the lack of capacity is the age-related outflow of judges. More and more judges are approaching the legal dismissal age of 70. Some judges also retire earlier than the dismissal age.
An evaluation shows that the experiences with the deployment of deputies aged 70 and older are very positive and that the deputies make a valuable contribution to reducing the capacity shortage. That is why employability is now made permanently possible. As a result, the deputy judges remain available at courts, tribunals, the Central Appeals Tribunal and the Trade and Industry Appeals Board. The bill to make the commitment permanent is being prepared in close collaboration with the Council for the Judiciary and the Dutch Association for the Judiciary. Once the proposal is ready, it will go into (internet) consultation before it is submitted to the Council of State for advice.
Other measures
In addition to the deployment of deputy judges aged 70 and over, other measures have previously been taken to increase the capacity of the Judiciary. The training capacity for judges and counselors has been increased to 140 places in recent years. Furthermore, with the support of the Ministry of Justice and Security, investments have been made in more support staff. In the current price agreements (2026-2028) between the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice and Security, resources have also been made available for strengthening the judiciary, including for institutional innovation to reduce the workload.
