The Dutch law society warned on Wednesday that too many cases are being settled out of court, which is reducing the ability of judges to check if the law is being correctly applied.

In 2016, 106,000 criminal cases were taken to court, a drop of 12% on 2015, the society says in its annual report.

Around 50% of cases are now settled by the public prosecution department without resorting to court appearances.

‘Society has to be able to control that action is being taken and that punishments are in line with the law,’ society chairman Frits Bakker said. ‘Society is not being given the full picture if the public prosecution department settles major cases with a multi-million euro payment.’

Out of court settlements in major cases are popular because they are quicker to organise and conclude, NOS said. However, said Bakker, it would be better to improve the legal process instead.

The law society recently wrote to coalition negotiator Edith Schippers pointing out that several dozen million euros are needed to boost the use of IT within the criminal justice system.

At the moment, for example, the police have to print out copies of statements which are then sent to the public prosecution department, Bakker said. There they are scanned for further digital processing.