TIJN VAN OSCH

Retired senior Appeal Judge (Vice-President) at the Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden

(The Netherlands),

Deputy Judge at the Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden (The Netherlands),

Substitute Chair of the Disciplinary Court of Appeal for Lawyers,

Chair of the International Committee of the Dutch Association for the Judiciary (NVvR) and

Representative for NVvR at the International Association of Judges (IAJ/UIM),

Observer on behalf of IAJ/UIM at the Hague Conference on Private International Law,

Vice-President of the 2nd Study Commission Civil Law of the International Association of Judges

(IAJ/UIM)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59546/18290744-2025.10-12-183

Annotation.

The issue of excessively long legal documents is a global problem, not just a Dutch one. This was confirmed by the International Association of Judges (IAJ/UIM) after a survey of nearly 40 countries found that many jurisdictions suffer from overly long and unnecessary procedural documents. In this article about Comparative law, the Dutch Judge Tijn van Osch explains the international situation from the background of the Dutch solution for the problem.

While most countries surveyed do not have explicit limits on document length, a few do, including the Netherlands, Australia, Ireland, US and the UK. The effectiveness of these limits is clear. For example, the U.S. f inds they help judges prepare and write judgments more efficiently. Globally, a key suggestion is to train lawyers in better writing skills, as many believe the problem lies with the quality of the legal profession.

In the Netherlands, the judiciary has already implemented a 25-page limit for appeal documents since April 2021. The Supreme Court upheld this regulation, stating it has a sufficient legal basis and is necessary for an efficient legal process. An evaluation found that the rules are working well, with lawyers successfully adapting their writing to the new limits.

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