Haugaland og Sunnhordland District Court ( no, Haugaland og Sunnhordland tingrett) is a district court located in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

and Rogaland counties in

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 ...

. This court is based at two different courthouses which are located in Haugesund and

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

. The court serves the southern part of Vestland county and the northern part of Rogaland county. This court takes cases from 17 municipalities. The court in Haugesund accepts cases from the municipalities of Bokn,

Etne Etne is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, although it is also sometimes considered to be part of the district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the ...

, Haugesund,

Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...

Sauda Sauda ''()'' is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sauda, where most of the population lives. Other villages in the municipality include Saudasjøen and Amdal. Despite being i ...

Suldal Suldal is a municipality in the northeast corner of Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. Since 1965, the administrative centre of Suldal is the village of Sand i Ryfylke (prior to that it was the villa ...

, Tysvær,

Utsira Utsira () is the smallest List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. The island municipality is located in northwestern Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, just off the western coast of Norway. Utsira is part of the Districts of ...

, and

Vindafjord Vindafjord is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. Since 2005, the administrative centre of the municipality has been the village of Ølensjøen (prior to that time it was the village o ...

. The court in Leirvik accepts cases from the municipalities of

Bømlo Bømlo is a municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Svortland. Other villages in Bømlo includ ...

Fitjar Fitjar () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The municipality is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Fitjar municipality includes the northern part of the island of Stord and the hundreds of surrounding islands, most ...

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in size in former Hordaland county. The administrative centre of the mu ...

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

Sveio Sveio is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. Sveio is a border district that is sometimes considered to be located in the traditional district of Haugalandet since it is located on the Haugalandet peninsula, but it is also considered to ...

, and

Tysnes Tysnes () is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Uggdal. Other population centres in Tysnes include the villages of Våge and Onarhei ...

. The court is subordinate to the Gulating Court of Appeal. The court is led by a chief judge () and several other judges. The court is a

court of first instance A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

. Its judicial duties are mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as bankruptcy. The administration and registration tasks of the court include death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court are heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges.

History

This court was established on 26 April 2021 after the old Haugaland District Court and Sunnhordland District Court were merged into one court. The new district court system continues to use the courthouses from the predecessor courts.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022 District courts of Norway 2021 establishments in Norway Organisations based in Haugesund Organisations based in Leirvik