Hammerfest tingrett is a district court/The Hammerfest District Court

The Courts of Norway have the role as third power of the State, prescribing them the duty to monitor the powers of the legislative and the executive. It is a fundamental right for anyone to have their case considered by an impartial and independent court.

As a court of law, The Hammerfest District Court has the duty and obligation to reach a decision in all the individual cases brought before it. The cases brought into the court system in Norway are divided as to whether they concern criminal law or civil law.
Criminal law mostly involves the rules laid down by the state for individual citizens, while civil law governs the relationships and transactions between citizens and between companies.

The Hammerfest Distict Court serves the local authorities Hammerfest, Hasvik, Kvalsund, Måsøy and Nordkapp, serving a total population of appr. 16.000.

The Court’s decisions may be appealed to Hålogaland Court of Appeal.

Other duties
Duties carried out by the Courts of Justice also include: probate cases, estate settlements, (joint property, bankruptcy etc.), partnership registrations, and notarial transactions.

Staff
The judicial staff consists of 2 appointed professional judges and 1 deputy judge. The president of the court appoints deputy judges for a period of up to about two years. The judges divide their time approximately equally between criminal cases and civil cases.

The administrative staff counts 4 employees. The office manager is leader of the administrative staff (archive, security, training, CIT, general office, financial department etc), while the “sorenskriver” is the president of the district court.

Cases
In 2007 the court dealt with 117 criminal cases with laymen, 186 summary procedures (confession cases, remand in custody etc.) and 52 civil cases. (The Government has set maximum standards for the duration of time from a case has been brought before the court until a decision has been made. The standard is 3 months for criminal cases (with laymen) and 6 months for civil cases. Hammerfest District Court reaches this standard both in the criminal and civil cases.

Contact information:
Hammerfest tingrett / Hammerfest District Court
Email                hammerfest.tingrett@domstol.no
Telephone         + 47 78 42 29 00
Fax                   + 47 78 42 29 01
Adress               Postboks 400, 9615 Hammerfest, Norway
Visiting adress    Parkgaten 14 - 2nd floor, Hammerfest


More information about the courts of Norway at: http://www.domstol.no/