Jæren District Court () was a

district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The court was based at the ''Sandnes Courthouse'' located on Olav V's plass in the town of Sandnes. The court existed until 2021. It had jurisdiction over the west central part of the county which included the municipalities of

Gjesdal Gjesdal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ålgår ...

Hå Hå is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is the southernmost municipality in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the v ...

Klepp Klepp is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jæren. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kleppe. O ...

Sandnes Sandnes () is a city and municipality in Rogaland, Norway. It lies immediately south of Stavanger, the 4th largest municipality in Norway, and together the Stavanger/Sandnes area is the third-largest urban area in Norway. The urban city of Sand ...

, and

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

. Cases from this court could be appealed to

Gulating Court of Appeal The Gulating Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the city of Bergen. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestland and Rogaland plus Sirdal Municipality in Agder county ...

. The court was led by the chief judge () Anne Marie Aarrestad. This court employed a chief judge, ten other judges, and five prosecutors as well as other administrative assistants. Jæren District Court had seven courtrooms. The court was a

court of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

. Its judicial duties were 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 deb ...

. The administration and registration tasks of the court included death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court were heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges.

History

This court was established in 1869 when the old Jæren og Dalane District Court was divided into two: Dalane District Court (in the south) and Jæren District Court in the north. Initially, this court had jurisdiction over

Hetland Hetland is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until 1965 when it was dissolved. The municipality included the Stavanger Peninsula and the land surrounding both sides of the Gandsfjorden, but ...

, Håland,

Høyland Høyland is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality was located at the innermost end of the Gandsfjorden in the western part of the present-day municipality of Sandnes. The muni ...

, and

. In 1951, the northern part of the court's jurisdictional area was separated and moved to the newly created

Hafrsfjord District Court Hafrsfjord or Hafrsfjorden is a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula in Rogaland county, Norway. The long fjord forms the border between the municipalities of Stavanger and Sola. On the west side of the fjord is the large village of Tananger, on t ...

. On 24 February 1967, part of this court's geographical jurisdiction was separated to form part of the new Sandnes District Court and at the same time, Sola Municipality was transferred back into the jurisdiction of this court (from Hafrsfjord District Court which had been closed down). This meant that this court's jurisdiction only covered the municipalities of

, and

Sola Sola may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Albums * ''Saints of Los Angeles'', a 2008 album by Mötley Crüe * ''Sola'', an album by Olga Tañón * ''Sola'', an album by Zayda y los Culpables Songs * Sola (Becky G song), "Sola" (Becky G song ...

. On 1 September 2006, a major change to the district courts in the region took place. The Sandnes District Court was closed and merged into the Jæren District Court which moved the site of the court from

Bryne Bryne (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town in Time, Norway, Time municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The town is the administrative centre of the municipality of Time and it is also List of urban areas in Norway by population ...

in Time Municipality to the town of

. Additionally on that date, the old Ryfylke District Court was also dissolved and

Forsand Municipality Forsand is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1871 until 2020 when it was merged into Sandnes municipality. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the m ...

was transferred into the jurisdiction of the Jæren District Court. On 1 July 2007, Sola Municipality was transferred out of this court's jurisdiction and assigned to the Stavanger District Court. On 26 April 2021, Jæren District Court was merged with the Dalane District Court and Stavanger District Court to create the new Sør-Rogaland District Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaeren District Court Defunct district courts of Norway Organisations based in Sandnes 1869 establishments in Norway 2021 disestablishments in Norway Courts and tribunals established in 1869 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2021