Academic perceptions of litigation rates are dispersed: they vary from observations of a ‘litigation explosion’ to empirical accounts of ‘vanishing trials’. In this article the authors study whether civil trials are increasing or vanishing in the Netherlands. To find out, the authors studied trends in the number of civil cases in the Dutch courts. First, they observed developments in the filings as well as the dispositions of civil cases over the past 25 years, taking into account the trial-likeness of the procedures. Second, they put the Dutch figures - including other indicators of legal activity - in a European perspective. The findings show that the number of court cases in the Netherlands is on the rise. This does not automatically imply, however, that the Netherlands are a highly litigious society. ‘Light’ versions of trials are predominant, as is efficiency in the management of cases. Moreover, the number of lawyers and judges is rather small compared to other European countries.

Quality of organization and quality management are different concepts. The CEPEJ report on efficiency and quality of justice refers to a state of affairs. Quality management is a set of planned, reactive and proactive actions to enhance organisation development in order to improve the functioning of an organisation. Based on case studies on quality management in several COE member states, a distinction is suggested between various levels of involvement of a ministry of justice or a council for the judiciary in quality management in the courts and/or the court administration. A restricted comparative analyses suggests that cooperation between courts and a ministry of justice is based on mutual trust, where the ministry of justice does hardly interfere. In most countries, however, interactions between the court organisations and the ministry of justice to enhance quality management are coordinated at the central level.

The notion that animal abuse and domestic violence are related has been existing for centuries. Recent studies in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands report evidence for this relation. In the western world, more than 50% of families have pets. They are often valued as members of the family. It is obvious that pets can be victims of family violence as well. The relation between animal abuse and domestic violence has many manifestations. Abused women reported violence against their pets, reported that their children abused the pets. Abused children, especially severely abused and/or sexually abused children, are more often than other children animal abusers. Animal abuse is often related to other violent behaviour or severe criminal acts later in life. Besides, animal abuse is an early diagnostic marker for psychopathology. Animal abuse is always a signal of a problematic situation. A greater awareness of the possible link between animal abuse and domestic violence could contribute to saving men, women, children and animals from violent situations.

After having explained what the function and role of a quantity surveyor is, the author describes his first acquaintance with mediation in the construction industry. One of his major observations is that ‘we quantity surveyors have been mediating long before mediation was a twinkle in the eyes of the legal fraternity’.

Over nine years after the enactment of the Dutch anti-stalking provision there are still no figures detailing the prevalence of stalking in the Netherlands. This article aims to estimate the prevalence and nature of this form of victimization within the Dutch population. In order to generate these findings the results of the national Police Monitor of 2001 were analysed. Of the 88,607 respondents 24 percent reported a lifetime rate of stalking victimization and for 1.2 to 3.1 percent of the respondents the harassment had begun in the 12 months previous to the study. With almost one in three women (28.6%) and almost one in five men (19.2%), women were significantly more likely to report having been stalked at some time during their lives. In line with previous research age was significantly related to life-time stalking with younger people having greater odds of reporting victimization. (Cor)relations were furthermore found between stalking and having a job, being originally of another than the Dutch nationality and education. But, apart from gender, the odds ratios for those socio-demographic variables were only very small. In most cases (65.6%) the stalker only used one method of harassment with unwanted telephone calls being the method that appeared most in isolation (65.7%). 59.1% of the victims indicated that they felt threatened because of the repetitive harassment. A remarkable finding was that in over 56 percent of the cases the identity of the stalker was unknown.

Propositions of law are based upon normative judgement. The interpretation and application of legal provisions rest upon a judgement that determines which weight must be attributed to some point of view or perspective. In this respect, legal theory has a normative character. Its normative character does not preclude legal theory from being a scientific discipline. The scientific character of legal theory is not located in the possibility of testing the correctness of its theories. Rather, legal theory owes it scientific character to the shared standards of production and evaluation of legal arguments: the grammar of justice.

Staatsfondsen vormen onderwerp van een intensiverend debat. In dit artikel staat de vraag centraal of de bestaande wet- en regelgeving de bestaande zorgen rondom staatsfondsen (voldoende) wegnemen. Voor een goed begrip worden allereerst stilgestaan bij staatsfondsen en hun economische implicaties. Vervolgens worden de voornamelijk in het westen bestaande zorgen jegens staatsfondsen nader besproken. Daarna wordt onderzocht op welke wijze Nederland – maar ook andere landen – strategische sectoren tracht te beschermen tegen onwenselijke investeerders. Ook wordt gekeken op welke wijze door middel van regelgeving tegemoet wordt gekomen aan de behoefte aan meer transparantie bij staatsfondsen.

Dit artikel bevat een analyse van het kartelbeleid van de Commissie en arresten van het Gerecht van Eerste Aanleg en het Hof van Justitie van de Europese Gemeenschappen ten tijde van eerdere economische crisissituaties. In het bijzonder de volgende aspecten komen aan bod: (1) recente uitspraken van mededingingsautoriteiten over het kartelbeleid in de economische crisis; (2) hoe werden crisiskartels eerder beoordeeld onder artikel 81 van het EG-Verdrag; (3) werden in het verleden, en zo ja, onder welke omstandigheden, ‘crisiskortingen’ op kartelboetes toegestaan?; en (4) biedt het beleid van de Commissie met betrekking tot betalingsmodaliteiten van de boete ademruimte voor ondernemingen in moeilijkheden?

In the light of the ECJ case law on the freedom of establishment, both the Dutch and German governments have recently launched legislative proposals that are designed to revamp their national limited liability companies. This gives reason to take a closer look at the Dutch and German approach regarding some important issues for investors, namely minimum capital, non-voting and non-profit participating shares and shareholder instruction rights.

Incorporated groups include businesses, universities, churches and the like. Organized to act as single centers of agency, they also routinely satisfy the three conditions that make an agent fit to be held responsible: they face significant choices, can recognize the relative value of different options, and are able to choose in sensitivity to such values. But is it redundant to hold a corporate agent responsible for something, when certain members are also held responsible for the individual parts they play? No it is not, for it is often possible for a corporate entity to be fully fit to be held responsible, when this is not true of the individual members; they may be able to make excuses that are not available at the corporate level. Does the case made for corporate responsibility extend to unincorporated collectivities like nations or religions? Not strictly but it does explain why it may be sensible to treat those collectivities as if they had corporate responsibility in certain domains.

Responsibility disappears into the background of private law as it deals with imputation of liability. Fitness to be held liable is determined by normative viewpoints different from moral ones, in particular by convictions on how society ought to be organized so as to avoid or end conflict between private citizens. Modes of discursive control are geared to making authoritative decisions in view of the same end, and corporate agency is created, restricted or enlarged to undercut or to impose individual liability.