Belgium’s courts and tribunals handled 930,786 cases in 2025, slightly reducing the backlog despite persistent staff shortages that continue to slow the justice system.
The figures come from the first annual activity report by the College of Courts and Tribunals, which brings together data from the country’s 49 judicial entities. Over the same period, 927,812 new cases were filed, leaving the year-end backlog 2,974 cases lower.
Even so, 584,003 cases were still pending at the end of 2025, according to the report published this week.
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The justice system continues to be hampered by structural understaffing. Only 95% of the legally required number of magistrates are in post, while staffing in court registries stands at 88%.
An absenteeism rate of 8% has added to the pressure, exceeding the average seen in other major federal public bodies. By 31 December 2025, the system was short of 80 full-time equivalent magistrates and 578 registry staff.
Labour courts have been hit hardest. They face the most severe shortage of magistrates, with a shortfall of 12.2%, and the effect on case handling has been stark.
The average processing time in labour courts has reached 645 days. Although 48,760 cases were completed, the number of pending cases rose by 2,801.
By the end of 2025, labour courts had a backlog of 100,950 cases, equivalent to more than two years of work.
At the other end of the scale, justices of the peace recorded the shortest average processing time, at 81 days. But the report says this figure masks a more complex reality.
These courts dealt with more than 423,000 cases in 2025, yet they are struggling to keep up because of a shortage of registry staff and high absenteeism. Registry staffing there stood at just 84.3% of the authorised level, the lowest rate in the country.
The same staffing problems forced the presidents of the 25 justice of the peace sites in the Brussels district to cut the opening days for counters and telephone lines from five to three on 12 October. A similar measure was also introduced in Couvin.
