Context
voorRecht-rechtspraak was conceived to address a systemic public sector problem: widespread unmet legal need and an overburdened judiciary that traditionally responds reactively rather than enabling citizen-centred resolution. The project’s rationale is governance led innovation, not just a new tool, but a reconfiguration of how courts deliver public services.
In relation to the Innovating Government, Governance and Policies category, voorRecht-rechtspraak demonstrates how technology, human-centred design and an innovative governance can be combined to reshape policy implementation: it offers a scalable, ethically framed model for delegation of routine dispute resolution, delivers measurable efficiency and access gains, and produces transferable policy learning (service blueprints, data-driven thresholds, safeguards for fairness and AI use). As such it is an exemplar of systemic public innovation that reforms governance processes and informs reproducible policy change.
Objectives
voorRecht-rechtspraak aims to close the access to justice gap by helping citizens resolve common civil disputes quickly, affordably, and independently, reducing unnecessary court use and preserving relationships. The project responds to a reality where many people face legal problems, yet few proceed to court because procedures are complex, costly, slow, and intimidating, and courts are often forced into a reactive role.
The service delivers a digital first, human-centred pathway: the ‘Explorer’ chatbot translates users’ stories into legal terms and clarifies next steps based on similar jurisprudence in plain and understandable Dutch. It empowers users to understand their options and likely outcomes. After showing its results, users are provided a structured workbook with a principled negotiation framework that helps parties settle before involving a judge. Only when users still require assistance, a guided online intake escalates to trained facilitators to help solve disputes in a guided conversation.
Implementation
Implementation combined a product style delivery with firm judicial governance and wide stakeholder engagement. The programme was run from a ‘startup in residence’ court-funded innovation garage. There, a multidisciplinary core team of seconded judges and court staff, product managers, designers, behavioural scientists, technologists, and legal/compliance advisers worked in agile sprints. A senior-led steering group provided governance and risk oversight while an operational delivery team managed prototyping, live pilots in three regional districts, and the plug-and-play blueprint for scale. Through active feedback gathering on the website and throughout the service new features and improvements to the project’s process and interface are being developed.
An ethics and compliance stream defined AI safeguards (retrieval-augmented generation – RAG) pipeline, provenance, an explicit ban on legal advice, audit trails, feedback button) and data protection rules. Staffing blended dedicated roles and secondees to secure operational ownership; facilitators and court staff received specific training and a facilitators’ handbook.
Budget combined modest pilot funding, the innovation garage commitment, and reallocated court resources; early results show roughly 50% lower cost per dossier. Stakeholder consultation used co-creation workshops, usability testing and partnerships with relevant stakeholders in the field, and the programme feeds ongoing academic validation.