This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.
Today, the European Commission has published the fourteenth edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard, an annual overview providing comparative data on the efficiency, quality and independence of justice systems across the EU, as well as other indicators relevant for the functioning of the Single Market.
What is the EU Justice Scoreboard?
The EU Justice Scoreboard is designed to support the EU and Member States in improving the effectiveness of national justice systems. It provides objective and reliable data on the efficiency, quality and independence of justice systems, as well as on other indicators. It is one of several instruments in the EU’s Rule of Law toolbox and supports the Commission’s monitoring of justice reforms undertaken by Member States. For the second time, this year’s Scoreboard also provides data relevant for the functioning of the Single Market in all Member States.
The Scoreboard contributes to identifying good practices and areas where improvements may be needed. It shows trends in the functioning of national justice systems over time, providing an overview of how they perform without presenting an overall ranking. This is based on various indicators that are of common interest to all Member States.
The Scoreboard does not promote any particular justice model, and puts all Member States on an equal footing. Across all national justice systems and legal traditions, timeliness, independence and accessibility are some of the essential features of an effective justice system, which are presented in the Scoreboard.
Why are national justice systems important for the EU?
Effective justice systems are essential for the application and enforcement of EU law and for upholding the rule of law. They also help safeguard the values on which the EU is founded and which are shared by the Member States. Effective justice systems ensure that individuals and businesses can fully enjoy their rights, strengthen mutual trust, and help build a business- and investment-friendly environment in the Single Market. They are also crucial for the implementation of EU law, because national courts act as EU courts when applying EU law.
Are the Scoreboard and the Rule of Law Report linked?
The Justice Scoreboard and the Rule of Law Report complement each other: The EU Justice Scoreboard is part of the EU’s rule of law toolbox and one of the sources of information used for the Rule of Law Report. The Scoreboard provides comparative data on the functioning of national justice systems, while the Report presents a qualitative assessment of significant developments related to the rule of law in all 27 Member States.
Following the 2024 Political Guidelines of President von der Leyen, the 2025 edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard introduced new data relevant for the Single Market, highlighting the essential role of efficient and independent justice systems in fostering a fair and competitive market environment.
This year, the Scoreboard has been further developed to reflect the need for additional comparative information identified during the preparation of the 2025 Rule of Law Report by including, for example, access to information for Supreme Audit Institutions, and mapping of transparency registers across all Member States.
The additional comparative information provided by the Scoreboard will feed into the 2026 Rule of Law Report.
What are the main innovations in the fourteenth edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard?
The 2026 edition of the Scoreboard contains 12 new or updated figures that enhance our understanding of three key aspects of an effective justice system: efficiency, quality and independence.
- As regards quality, the 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard introduces new figures on the rate of legal aid fees for lawyers in specific civil cases, and on authorities involved in non-contentious divorce procedures. It also provides updated figures on representative actions protecting consumers’ collective interests, access to justice for children, and the digitalisation of justice.
- As regards independence, it contains several new and updated indicators covering both perception data from the latest Eurobarometer surveys and structural safeguards collected with European judicial networks, including on probationary periods for judges, powers of Prosecutors General, and systems of case allocation in prosecution services.
- As regards efficiency, the Scoreboard draws on existing indicators, notably those provided by Member States to the Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), and those developed on efficiency in specific fields of EU law.
This year’s Scoreboard also further develops indicators relevant to the functioning of the Single Market by introducing new and updated measures highlighting how independent authorities —including supreme audit institutions, national competition authorities, first instance public procurement review bodies, and preventive anti-corruption bodies— contribute to its proper functioning.
How can justice systems have an impact on the economy?
Effective justice systems that uphold the rule of law have a positive economic impact. Where judicial systems guarantee the enforcement of rights and fight corruption effectively, creditors are more likely to lend, businesses are dissuaded from opportunistic behaviour, transaction costs are reduced, and innovative businesses are more likely to invest.
The EU Justice Scoreboard helps monitor progress in implementing justice reforms under national Recovery and Resilience Plans across Member States.
How does the 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard examine the effectiveness of justice?
The Scoreboard uses indicators that examine the three main features of an effective justice system: efficiency, quality and independence.
Efficiency
The indicators related to the efficiency of proceedings include: caseload, estimated length of judicial proceedings (disposition time), clearance rate (the ratio of the number of resolved cases to the number of incoming cases) and the number of pending cases. The Scoreboard also presents the average length of proceedings in specific fields where EU law is involved.
Quality
Easy access to justice, adequate resources, effective assessment tools and the use of information and communication technologies are key factors that contribute to the quality of justice systems. The Scoreboard uses various indicators to evaluate digitalisation, such as access to online information and to court judgments, digital-ready procedural rules, use of digital technology by courts and prosecution services, and secure electronic tools for communication or online access to case files.
Independence
The Scoreboard examines the perception of judicial independence, both among the general public and in companies. Additionally, it presents key indicators relevant to evaluating the structure and effectiveness of justice systems in protecting judicial independence. In particular, the 2026 edition includes indicators related to the processes of withdrawal and recusal of judges, as well as the roles of various authorities in the appointment and dismissal of heads of prosecution offices.
Other indicators relevant for the Single Market
This year, the Scoreboard also continues to develop indicators of specific relevance for the functioning of the Single Market to which effective justice systems and respect for the rule of law are central. It further strengthens the business and Single Market dimension by presenting new indicators on first instance public procurement review bodies, supreme audit institutions and national competition authorities.
What is the methodology of the EU Justice Scoreboard?
The Scoreboard uses various sources of information. Large parts of the quantitative data are provided by the Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), with which the Commission has concluded a contract to carry out a specific annual study. These data range from 2014 to 2024 and have been provided by Member States according to CEPEJ’s methodology. The study also provides detailed comments and country-specific factsheets, which give more contextual information and should be considered alongside the figures.
Other sources of data are the group of contact persons on national justice systems, National contact points for anti-corruption, the European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ), the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the EU, the Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the EU (ACA-Europe), the European Competition Network, the Communications Committee, the European Observatory on infringements of intellectual property rights, the Expert Group on Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism, Eurostat, the Council of Bar and Law Societies in Europe, the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the NADAL Network of Prosecutors, the Contact Committee on Supreme Audit Institutions, Council of the Notariats of the European Union, and the Network of First Instance Review Bodies on Public Procurement.
Why are some data missing?
Although some data are still missing for certain Member States, the data gap continues to decrease. The remaining difficulties in gathering data are often due to insufficient statistical capacity or the fact that the national categories for which data is collected do not exactly correspond to the ones used for the Scoreboard. The Commission will continue to encourage Member States to reduce this data gap further.
How does the EU Justice Scoreboard feed into the European Semester and how is it related to the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)?
By comparing information on Member States’ justice systems, the Scoreboard makes it easier both to identify best practices and shortcomings, and to keep track of challenges and progress made. In the context of the European Semester, country-specific assessments are carried out through a bilateral dialogue with the national authorities and stakeholders concerned. Where the shortcomings identified have macroeconomic significance, the European Semester analysis may lead to the Commission proposing to the Council to adopt country-specific recommendations to improve the national justice systems in individual Member States.
The RRF has made available more than €577 billion in loans and non-repayable financial support, of which each Member State would need to allocate a minimum of 20% to the digital transition and a minimum of 37% to measures contributing to climate objectives. Around 285 milestones and targets are included in Member States’ recovery and resilience plans (RRPs) to strengthen the rule of law by increasing the efficiency, quality and independence of the judicial system and the anti-corruption framework including anti-money laundering. Until May 2026, following pre-financing payments as well as payment requests by Member States, a total of €400 billion in RRF grants and loans have been disbursed.
How does the European Commission’s Justice Programme support the effectiveness of justice systems?
With a total budget of around €305 million for 2021-2027, the Justice Programme supports the development of a just Europe based on judicial independence, quality and cooperation. In 2025, around €40.7 million were provided to fund projects and other activities under the three specific objectives of the programme:
- promotion of judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters;
- training of legal professionals on EU civil, criminal and fundamental rights law, legal systems of the Member States and the rule of law;
- promotion of access to justice (including e-Justice); protection of victims’ rights and the rights of persons suspected or accused of crime; and support to the development and use of digital tools and the maintenance and extension of the e-Justice portal.
For more information
Press release 2026 EU Justice Scoreboard
2026 EU Justice Scoreboard Factsheet
2026 EU Justice Scoreboard quantitative data factsheet
2026 Rule of Law Report – targeted stakeholder consultation
Factsheet EU’s rule of law toolbox
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