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, Jæren 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.
Jæren Distict Court serves the municipalities Hå, Time, Klepp, Gjesdal, Sandnes og Forsand.
The Court’s decisions may be appealed to Gulating Court of Appeal.
Other duties
Duties carried out by the Courts of Justice also include: probate cases, estate settlements, (joint property, bankruptcy etc.), and notarial transactions.
Staff
The judicial staff consists of 7 appointed judges and 6 deputy judges. The president of the court appoints deputy judges for a period limited to three years. The judges divide their time approximately equally between criminal cases and civil cases.
The administrative staff counts 18 employees. An administrative manager is leader of the administrative staff (archive, security, training, PR, CIT, general office, financial department etc), while the “sorenskriver” is the president of the district court.
Cases
In 2007 the court dealt with approximately 484 criminal cases with laymen, 1057 summary procedures (confession cases, remand in custody etc.) and 347 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. Jæren District Court will probably reach the standard for criminal cases og civil cases next year.
Contact information:
Jæren tingrett
Email: Jaren.tingrett@domstol.no
Telephone: 52 00 46 00
Fax: 52 00 46 01
Visitadress: Olav V's plass 1, 4306 Sandnes
Postadress: Postboks 92, 4302 Sandnes
More information about the courts of Norway at: http://www.domstol.no/