Tønsberg 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 ...

in southeastern

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

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

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

. The court existed until 2019. It historically had jurisdiction over the municipalities of

Andebu Andebu is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Andebu. Othe ...

Nøtterøy Nøtterøy is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The admini ...

Stokke Stokke is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative ...

Tjøme Tjøme () is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative ce ...

, and

. Due to municipal mergers during the 2010s, by the time the court was abolished in 2019, it only had jurisdiction over

Tønsberg Municipality Tønsberg () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tønsberg, ...

and

Færder Municipality Færder is a municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vestfold. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Borgheim. Other villages in the municipality include Årøysund, Bj ...

. Cases from this court could be appealed to

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which ...

. 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 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 perma ...

History

Søndre Jarlsberg District Court

The Søndre Jarlsberg District Court (later renamed as ''Tønsberg District Court'') was established in 1684, originally having jurisdiction over all of southern

Jarlsberg Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway. The name translates as "Earl's Hill". The former countships of Jarlsberg and Larvik were merged into a county in 1821. Jarlsberg and Larvik's County (''Jarl ...

county including

Ramnes Ramnes is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about to the northwest of the city of Tønsberg, about to the northwest of the village of Linnestad, about to the southwest of the villages of ...

, Borre, Sem,

, and

. In 1847, a new Mellom Jarlsberg District Court was established, which reduced the area of jurisdiction for this court to just Sem, Stokke, and Nøtterøy. On 20 February 1849,

Tjøme Municipality Tjøme () is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The island municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2018. The area is now part of Færder Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Tjøme. Other v ...

was moved to the jurisdiction of this court from the neighboring Larvik District Court. On 10 November 1922, the court's name was changed to ''Sør-Jarlsberg District Court''. On 21 April 1933, the old

City Court was merged into the Sør-Jarlsberg District Court.

Tønsberg District Court

On 23 October 1936, the name of the court was changed to ''Tønsberg District Court''. On 6 June 1952, the new

Jarlsberg District Court Jarlsberg was a former countship that forms a part of today's Vestfold county in Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote A ...

was created and

Sem Municipality Sem is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1988. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the ...

and

Stokke Municipality Stokke is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution on 1 January 2017. The area is now part of Sandefjord Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Stokke. Othe ...

were moved to that new court which left the city of Tønsberg plus Nøtterøy and Tjøme municipalities in the Tønsberg District Court. In 1981, the Jarlsberg District Court was merged with the Tønsberg District Court which moved Sem,

, and

(back) to the jurisdiction of this court. On 1 January 2019, Tønsberg District Court was merged with the Nordre Vestfold District Court, Sandefjord District Court, and Larvik District Court to create the new

Vestfold District Court Vestfold District Court () is a district court located in Vestfold county, Norway. This court is based in Tønsberg. The court is subordinate to the Agder Court of Appeal. The court serves all six municipalities in Vestfold county (Færder, Holme ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonsberg District Court Defunct district courts of Norway Organisations based in Tønsberg 1684 establishments in Norway 2019 disestablishments in Norway Courts and tribunals established in 1684 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2019