prudentie

Prudentie, or jurisprudence, is the body of case law consisting of judicial decisions that interpret, apply and develop the law. In civil law systems like the Netherlands and Belgium, statute law is the primary source, but prudentie fills gaps, resolves ambiguities, and explains how statutes are applied in concrete cases.

Judicial decisions establish legal principles that guide future rulings, with the weight of authority depending on the court and the nature of the decision. In the Netherlands, decisions of the Hoge Raad (the Supreme Court) carry the greatest authority; lower courts typically follow the ratio decidendi of these rulings. Other courts contribute to the evolution of prudentie, with persuasive but not binding influence from earlier decisions and sometimes divergent lines that later higher courts harmonize.

Prudentie is dynamic: it develops as new disputes arise and must be reconciled with statutory text and doctrinal writing. It covers many areas of law, including contract, tort, property, administrative law and public regulation. While it is influential in interpreting legal rules, prudentie does not create binding law where the legislature has spoken clearly; judges must still apply the statutory text, unless the decision overturns or clarifies its interpretation.

Access to prudentie is through official reports and databases; for example, in the Netherlands, rechtspraak.nl provides searchable case law, including the holdings of Hoge Raad, appellate courts, and district courts. Academics and practitioners also study prudentie to forecast outcomes and argue for interpretative shifts.