Ofoten District Court ( no, Ofoten tingrett) was a
district court in
Nordland county (and a small part of
Troms
Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...
) 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 ...
. The court was based in the
town of Narvik. The court existed until 2021. The court served the northeastern part of the Nordland county and a small part of south-central
Troms
Troms (; se, Romsa; fkv, Tromssa; fi, Tromssa) is a former county in northern Norway. On 1 January 2020 it was merged with the neighboring Finnmark county to create the new Troms og Finnmark county. This merger is expected to be reversed by t ...
county. It included the municipalities of
Evenes
Evenes ( sme, Evenášši) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Bogen. Other villages in Evenes include Liland, Tårst ...
,
Hamarøy,
Lødingen
Lødingen ( sme, Lodegat) is a municipality in Nordland county in Norway. Lødingen is located on the southeastern corner of the island of Hinnøya, and is part of the traditional district of Ofoten. The administrative centre of the municipali ...
,
Narvik, and
Tjeldsund
Tjeldsund ( sme, Dielddanuorri) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The southwestern part of the municipality is part of the traditional district of Ofoten and the rest of the municipality is part of Central Hålogaland. The ...
in Nordland plus
Gratangen
Gratangen ( sme, Rivttága suohkan) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Central Hålogaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Årstein.
The municipal ...
,
Lavangen
Lavangen ( se, Loabák) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tennevoll. Other villages in Lavangen include Fossbakken and Spansdalen (in the inland areas) and ...
, and
Salangen in Troms. Cases from this court could be appealed to
Hålogaland Court of Appeal
The Hålogaland Court of Appeal ( no, Hålogaland lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Tromsø. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark as ...
. The court was led by the chief judge () Arne Eirik Kirkerud. The judicial staff consisted of one chief judge, two appointed professional judges, and one deputy judge. The chief judge was the president of the district court. He led the administration of the staff and appointed deputy judges for a period of up to three years. The judges divided their time approximately equally between criminal cases and civil cases.
The court was 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 were mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as
bankruptcy. The administration and registration tasks of the court included death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a
notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court were heard by a combination of professional judges and
lay judges.
History
On 26 April 2021, the court was merged with the
Vesterålen District Court
Vesterålen District Court ( no, Vesterålen tingrett) was a district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the town of Sortland. The court existed until 2021. It served the Vesterålen district in the northern part of the co ...
and
Trondenes District Court
Trondenes District Court ( no, Trondenes tingrett) was a district court located in the town of Harstad in Troms county, Norway. The court served the southwestern part of the county which included the municipalities of Harstad, Kvæfjord, Skånla ...
to create the new
Midtre Hålogaland District Court
Midtre Hålogaland District Court ( no, Midtre Hålogaland tingrett) is a district court located in Troms and Nordland, Norway. This court is based at three different courthouses which are located in Harstad, Narvik, and Sortland. The court ser ...
.
References
{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022
Defunct district courts of Norway
Organisations based in Narvik
2021 disestablishments in Norway