Procedural rules for family and juvenile cases
ReferenceProcedural rules (procesreglementen) govern how Dutch courts handle family cases: divorce (scheiding), maintenance (alimentatie), custody and contact (gezag en omgang), adoption (adoptie), Book 1 Civil Code cases and more. They are issued by the judiciary (Rechtspraak) and are binding on the parties to proceedings.
The rules cover the practicalities: the form in which documents are filed, the deadlines that apply, how hearings are scheduled, and when simplified procedures are available. For lawyers and litigants they are a daily working tool alongside the law itself.
The current versions of all family and juvenile law rules are published on the official rechtspraak.nl page linked below. We do not duplicate their texts: the judiciary revises them regularly.
The substantive law for these cases is in our catalogue: Book 1 of the Civil Code and the family-law secondary legislation.