Søndre Østfold District Court ( no, Søndre Østfold tingrett) is a district court located in southern

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

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 t ...

. This court is based at four different courthouses which are located in

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 ...

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

, and

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

. The court serves the southern part of

which includes nine municipalities. The court in Fredrikstad accepts cases from the municipalities of

Hvaler Hvaler is a municipality that is a group of islands in the southern part of Viken County, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Skjærhalden, on the island of Kirkeøy. The only police station in the municipali ...

and

. The court in Halden accepts cases from the municipalities of

Aremark Aremark is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fosby. Aremark was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The new municipality of Øymark wa ...

and

. The court in Moss accepts cases from the municipalities of

Råde Råde is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Karlshus. The parish of ''Raade'' was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The neighbouring ...

, and Våler. The court in Sarpsborg accepts cases from the municipalities of

Rakkestad Rakkestad is a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rakkestad. It is divided into the parishes of Rakkestad, Degernes, and Os. The municipality is the county's second largest b ...

and

. The court is subordinate to 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 ...

. 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 accordance w ...

. Its judicial duties are mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. 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 A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not permane ...

History

This court was established on 12 April 2021 after the old

Fredrikstad District Court Fredrikstad District Court ( no, Fredrikstad tingrett) is a district court located in Fredrikstad, Norway. It covers the municipalities of Fredrikstad and Hvaler and is subordinate Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court of Appeal ( no, ...

Halden District Court Halden District Court ( no, Halden tingrett) is a district court located in Halden, Norway. It covers the municipalities of Halden and Aremark and is subordinate Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court of Appeal ( no, Borgarting lagmann ...

Moss District Court Moss District Court ( no, Moss tingrett) is a district court located in Moss, Norway. It covers the municipalities of Moss, Rygge, Råde and Våler and is subordinate Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court of Appeal ( no, Borgarting ...

, and

Sarpsborg District Court Sarpsborg District Court ( Norwegian: Sarpsborg tingrett) is a district court located in Sarpsborg, Norway. The Court covers the municipalities of Sarpsborg and Rakkestad and is subordinate to the Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Cour ...

were all merged into one court. The new district court system continues to use the courthouses from the predecessor courts. When the court was created, 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 ...

also approved moving these areas from the

Borgarting Court of Appeal The Borgarting Court of Appeal ( no, Borgarting lagmannsrett) is one of six intermediate courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Oslo. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Oslo and western Viken. ...

to the

. This change was not carried out immediately in April of 2021, however, and the law stated that the change would take place when the government is ready to make the switch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sondre Ostfold District Court District courts of Norway 2021 establishments in Norway Organisations based in Fredrikstad Organisations based in Halden Organisations based in Moss, Norway Organisations based in Sarpsborg