Total number of cases that remain pending final decision at the first instance or first level of court as of 31 December in the jurisdictions receiving Grants support. It provides a snapshot of the case backlog, offering insight into the judicial system’s capacity and efficiency in processing cases. Given that the unit of measurement is 'annual number', this indicator requires a baseline value.

​For baseline and target setting, reference can be made to the EU Justice Scoreboard although this is countrywide: https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/84aa3726-82d7-4401-98c1-fee04a7d2dd6_en?filename=2024%20EU%20Justice%20Scoreboard.pdf

An increase in the number of pending judicial cases at year-end is not necessarily negative, as it must be assessed in relation to the overall volume of incoming cases and the system's processing capacity.