The Supreme Court's Annual Report 2025

In 2025, the Supreme Court decided 89 cases following an oral hearing. The average processing time decreased, while the Court reviewed approximately 15 percent of appealed judgments in civil cases and 16 percent in criminal cases.

The Supreme Court received a total of 2,286 appeals, of which 385 were appeals against judgments in civil cases and 391 were appeals against judgments in criminal cases. The remainder were appeals against orders (kjennelser) and decisions (beslutninger). Following an oral hearing, the Supreme Court decided 45 civil cases and 44 criminal cases in divisions. In addition, two civil cases and one criminal case were heard in a grand chamber.

According to Chief Justice Toril Marie Øie the figures reflect stable case processing over time. “The number of cases decided following an oral hearing has remained stable level in recent years. The figures for 2025 give a fairly accurate account of the Supreme Court’s ordinary activities”, she states.

One in six criminal cases reviewed

In 2025, 12.2 percent of appeals against judgments in criminal cases and 11.6 percent of appeals against judgments in criminal cases were referred to either a division or a grand chamber. In addition, the Appeals Selection Committee set aside the Court of Appeal’s judgment in nine civil cases and 17 criminal cases. Taken together, the Supreme Court thus reviewed 14.8 percent of judgments in civil cases and 16.4 percent of judgments in criminal cases.

“The figures show that the rule of law is safeguarded both through precedent rulings and through the Committee’s review of errors in individual cases”, Toril Marie Øie says.

Remand in custody dominate the orders

The Appeals Selection Committee normally considers appeals as they are received, but certain types of cases must be given priority. An important group of priority cases are those concerning remand in custody. These are normally decided by the Committee for quicker proceedings. Approximately 60 percent of appeals against orders in criminal cases in 2025 concerned remand in custody. “Clarification of the law in this area largely arises through reasoned rulings from the Appeals Selection Committee. But focusing exclusively on those rulings may present an unbalanced impression of case law”, the Chief Justice notes.

In 2025, the Appeals Selection Committee clarified issues related to electronic monitoring as an alternative to imprisonment, through several reasoned rulings.

Quicker case processing

Processing times decreased somewhat in 2025. In civil cases, the average time from receipt of the appeal until the hearing was six months. In criminal cases, the average processing time was 3.7 months. For cases decided by the Appeals Selection Committee, the average time was approximately one month in both civil and criminal cases. “Reasonable processing times are important both for the parties and for trust in the judiciary”, Chief Justice Øie says.

Wide range of case

The Supreme Court decided a wide range of cases in 2025. Among the criminal cases, the largest group concerned sexual offences and violations of personal integrity, while the civil cases primarily concerned tort law, contractual matters and expropriation.