Court speed across Europe
How quickly can Europe’s courts work through civil disputes?
The differences are substantial. In 2022, the estimated disposition-time indicator for first-instance civil and commercial disputes was:
🇬🇷 Greece: 746 days
🇮🇹 Italy: 540 days
🇪🇸 Spain: 359 days
🇫🇷 France: 333 days
🇩🇪 Germany: 241 days
🇨🇭 Switzerland: 141 days
🇮🇸 Iceland: 115 days
For businesses, the speed of dispute resolution matters—from recovering unpaid invoices to enforcing contracts.
But these figures are not average trial durations. The indicator divides year-end pending cases by cases resolved during the year, then multiplies by 365. It estimates the relationship between backlog and throughput.
The map covers 35 countries using consistent 2022 observations. Case mix, procedures and reporting differ; criminal cases, administrative cases and appeals are excluded.
Source: Council of Europe, CEPEJ 2024 evaluation report, Figure 5.6.
How much weight should court efficiency carry in a business’s investment decisions?