Judges are fed up with statements being dismissed as 'just an opinion': an exaggeration?

Judges are warning that growing criticism of their work is undermining the rule of law. In an urgent letter, the Amsterdam court judges argue that rulings are too often dismissed as "just an opinion." Why is that?

On the Nieuws van de Dag news program last night, opinion maker Roderick Veelo addressed the topic of the urgent letter. The letter was sent to De Telegraaf . He believes judges shouldn't exaggerate and states in the SBS6 program that they are not above criticism. You can see Veelo in the video above.

Open criticism of judges, who they believe undermine the rule of law, is coming from both society and politicians in The Hague. Roderick Veelo notes that it's not just about shouting that a judicial decision is "just an opinion." "The robe triangle also considers it dangerous. A danger to the rule of law, a danger to democracy."

Veelo on the judges' strong stance: "I think that's really exaggerated. The sense of justice of citizens and politicians is an essential part of the rule of law. The judge certainly has the final say. But I don't think you should be so rigid that politicians, elected representatives, and even citizens cannot criticize judges' decisions."

The opinion maker also sees this within the judges themselves: “It is of course true that in appeals we very often see one judge rejecting another judge and coming to a different decision.”

Presenter Art Rooijakkers also points out that the open letter isn't just about criticism of judges' rulings. "It's about the pressure on the rule of law, about a whole host of things." This could also be due to the high number of legal cases, for example. "One of those was the criticism from politicians, among others, of individual judges' rulings."

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