RESEARCH PROGRAM FOUNDATION RESEARCH ON THE (DUTCH) LEGAL SYSTEM 2023 – 2026

The Foundation stimulates and finances research in the field of justice in the broadest sense of the word. The research projects focus on themes related to (legal) assistance, legal aid, conflict resolution and dispute resolution. The Foundation has no organizational interest of its own and is therefore free to promote research that focuses on topics that may affect the interests of several legal actors. By commissioning research and disseminating the research results, the Foundation aims to contribute to the academic debate and the development of legal practice.

The research that the Foundation intends to promote during the period 2023-2026 will focus on three sub-areas: (1) increasing access to justice for citizens and small entrepreneurs; (2) strengthening the conflict-solving effect of the (judicial) system for citizens and small entrepreneurs; and (3) digital applications (in particular ODR [Online Dispute Resolution] and artificial intelligence) aimed at strengthening the first two areas.

  1. Access to justice consists of elements, such as access to affordable legal aid, access to effective conflict resolution and access to justice. Recent studies (Geschilbeslechtingsdelta 2019) have shown that recourse to both the judiciary and its alternatives is declining, while at the same time more respondents experience that their legal problems remain unresolved. This is a worrying development. Further research could provide more insight into this worrisome development, especially into how access to law can be strengthened across the full width, with special attention to small entrepreneurs. Particularly because there is little attention for their problems in legal practice and in research.
  2. Strengthening the conflict-resolution ability of the legal system is inextricably linked with the accessibility to the justice system. A strengthening of the conflict-solving functions of and within the legal system can ensure that (legal) problems and conflicts are being resolved quickly, sustainably and at low cost. It also will create more room within the legal system for the settlement of more complex legal disputes.
  3. Digital applications, such as online dispute resolution (ODR) and artificial intelligence (AI), are expected to play a major role in the field of rendering justice in the coming years. Consequently, these applications will form an important angle for the selection of subjects that the Foundation wishes to promote. In that respect the focus will be on the way these applications may increase both, access to the law and the conflict resolution capacity of the (judicial) system.

Overview