Feedback for professionals: co-production of court services by mirrormeeting-focusgroups for the judiciary in the Netherlands

Abstract

Mirrormeetings are focusgroups used by courts in the Netherland to gather feedback on the functioning of court services and judges in different fields of law. Different categories of court users are consulted on their experiences with court proceedings in different legal fields. In the set-up of those meetings judges and court staff are the listening audience of the conversation between court users about issues brought up by moderators of the session. That conversation is intended to mirror the court work. In this article we share the results of an inquiry into the functioning of mirrormeetings as a feedback instrument. Our study shows how courts and judges value the feedback they receive. However, because courts control the organisation and content of mirrormeetings to a considerable extent, there may be a risk of missing out on relevant, but unforeseen feedback. Furthermore, the follow up of mirrormeetings in terms of change in routines or in judicial behaviour is traceable to a limited extent. Therefore, it is difficult to assess if and how intended adaptations are implemented.