The Borgarting Court of Appeal ( no, Borgarting lagmannsrett) is one of six intermediate
courts of appeal in the
Kingdom of Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
. The Court is located in the city of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
and western
Viken
Viken may refer to:
*Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region
*Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020
*Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden
*Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...
. These areas constitute the Borgarting judicial district ( no, Borgarting lagdømme). This court can rule on both civil and criminal cases that are
appealed
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
from one of its subordinate
district courts. Court decisions can be, to a limited extent, appealed to the
Supreme Court of Norway
The Supreme Court of Norway (Norwegian Bokmål: ''(Norges) Høyesterett''; Norwegian Nynorsk: ''(Noregs) Høgsterett''; lit. ‘Highest Court’) was established in 1815 on the basis of section 88 in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, whi ...
. The court has 62 judges and 45 administrative staff. The chief judicial officer of the court ( no, førstelagmann) is currently Marianne Vollan. The court is administered by the
Norwegian National Courts Administration The Norwegian Courts Administration ( no, Domstoladministrasjonen) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the management and operations of the Courts of Justice of Norway. It is purely an administrative organisation, and does not interfer ...
.
Location
The Court has its seat in the city of
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. Additionally, the Court permanently sits in the town of
Drammen
Drammen () is a city and municipality in Viken (county), Viken, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the south-eastern and most populated part of Norway. Drammen municipality also includes smaller towns and village ...
. The Court may also sit in other places within its jurisdiction as needed.
The main courthouse in Oslo was built in 2005. It is an eleven story building with four stories of court rooms and seven stories with meeting rooms and offices. There are additional court rooms in a historic adjoining building that was constructed in the early 20th century. The building is located near St. Olavs Plass in the city center.
Jurisdiction
This court accepts appeals from all of the
district courts from its geographic jurisdiction. This court is divided into judicial regions ( no, lagsogn) and there is one or more district courts ( no, tingrett) that belongs to each of these regions.
History
The Borgarting is first mentioned in sources in 1047 as a
thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...
for the counties around the
Oslofjord
The Oslofjord (, ; en, Oslo Fjord) is an inlet in the south-east of Norway, stretching from an imaginary line between the and lighthouses and down to in the south to Oslo in the north. It is part of the Skagerrak strait, connecting the Nor ...
, eventually expanding as far as into
Grenland
Grenland is a traditional district in the county of Vestfold og Telemark, in the south-east of Norway. Located in the southeastern part of the county, Grenland is composed of the municipalities Skien, Porsgrunn, Bamble, and Siljan. Sometimes the ...
and
Båhuslen. The thing was held at
Borg
The Borg are an alien group that appear as recurring antagonists in the ''Star Trek'' fictional universe. The Borg are cybernetic organisms (cyborgs) linked in a hive mind called "the Collective". The Borg co-opt the technology and knowledge ...
. Its laws were codified by
King Magnus VI in 1276, when ten judges were appointed. By the fourteenth century, Oslo, Grenland and
Båhuslen had their own courts, each with their own presiding judge, and Borgarting was left with
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...
and Østfold, with the judge seat moving to
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...
. In the fifteenth century the seat was moved across the fjord to Sarpsborg, and in 1567 to
Fredrikstad
Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Fredrikstad.
The city of Fredrikstad was founded in 15 ...
. From 1797 Borgarting was renamed Fredrikshald
after the city of the same name, and Oslo was renamed Kristiania.
In 1797, the four were created as courts of appeal. Akershus Court of Appeal was located in Oslo (at the time called Christiania) and responsible for
Eastern Norway
Eastern Norway ( nb, Østlandet, nn, Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Vestfold og Telemark, Viken, Oslo and Innlandet.
Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region o ...
. The current structure with six courts of appeal and their names dates from 1890 when the Borgarting Court of Appeal was established. In 1892, the areas of
Agder
Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...
,
Telemark
Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
, and
Vestfold
Vestfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in Eastern Norway. In 2020 the county became part of the much larger county of Vestfold og Telemark. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it bordered th ...
were added to the jurisdiction of this court, and at that time it was renamed the
Borgarting og Agder Court of Appeal
The Borgarting was one of the major popular assemblies or things (''lagting'') of medieval Norway. Historically, it was the site of the court and assembly for the southern coastal region of Norway from the south-eastern border with Sweden, westwa ...
. In 1936, the court system was modified again and on 1 July 1936, the Borgarting og Agder Court of Appeal was dissolved and its areas split between the
Eidsivating Court of Appeal
The Eidsivating Court of Appeal ( no, Eidsivating lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Hamar. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Innlandet and eastern Viken. These ...
and the
Agder Court of Appeal
The Agder Court of Appeal ( no, Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Si ...
. At the same time the title ''overrett'' ("high court") disappeared. On 1 January 1995, the Eidsivating Court of Appeal was divided. The southwestern part of the old court's jurisdictional area became the new Borgarting Court of Appeal and the northeastern part retained the old Eidsivating Court of Appeal name. On 26 April 2021, the
Storting
The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
approved moving the areas of eastern
Viken county
Viken may refer to:
*Viken, Scandinavia, a historical region
*Viken (county), a Norwegian county established in 2020
*Viken, Sweden, a bimunicipal locality in Skåne County, Sweden
*Viken (lake), a lake in Sweden, part of the part of the Göta cana ...
from the Borgarting court to the Eidsivating court.
References
External links
Official site
{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022
Courts of appeal of Norway
Organisations based in Oslo
1995 establishments in Norway