The private sector has traditionally had a strong concern for monitoring and improving the quality of its goods and services. This tradition became clearly visible in the 1950s when Japanese enterprises were criticized for the poor quality of their products. In response to these critics, measures were taken in the form of ‘total quality control’ (TQC). During the past decades, many other general quality models have been developed. Can the same be said of the judiciary? Does it also use quality principles and quality systems or is the judiciary still at the beginning of its journey towards ‘court excellence’?