Alstahaug 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 ...

Nordland Nordland (; , , , ) is one of the three northernmost Counties of Norway, counties in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to t ...

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 in the town of Sandnessjøen. The court existed from 1859 until 2021. It served the municipalities of

Alstahaug Alstahaug is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland Districts of Norway, region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandnessjøen. So ...

, Dønna, Grane, Hattfjelldal, Herøy, Leirfjord, and

Vefsn Vefsn () is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Helgeland traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Mosjøen (population: 9,843). Some of the notable villages in Vefsn include Drev ...

. Cases from this court could be appealed to

Hålogaland Court of Appeal The Hålogaland Court of Appeal () 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 well as the island territor ...

. The court was led by the chief judge () Rolf Selfors, who also lead the neighboring Rana District Court and

Brønnøy District Court Brønnøy District Court () was a district court (Norway), district court in Nordland county, Norway. The court was based in the Brønnøysund, town of Brønnøysund. The court existed from 1919 until 2021. It served Bindal Municipality, Brønnø ...

at the time of the court's dissolution. This court employed a chief judge and three other judges. 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 district court (originally named ''Søndre Helgeland District Court'' was established in 1859 when the geographical jurisdiction of the old Helgeland District Court was divided into two: Søndre Helgeland District Court in the south and Nordre Helgeland District Court in the north. On 11 July 1919, the southern part of the jurisdictional area was separated to become the

. On 26 April 2021, the court was merged with the

and Rana District Court to create the new Helgeland District Court.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=February 2022 Defunct district courts of Norway Organisations based in Sandnessjøen 1859 establishments in Norway 2021 disestablishments in Norway Courts and tribunals established in 1859 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2021