Vesterålen 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 Sortland. The court existed until 2021. It served the

Vesterålen Vesterålen ( , ; ) is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the a ...

district in the northern part of the county. It included the municipalities of Andøy, Bø i Vesterålen,

Hadsel Hadsel may refer to: Places *Hadsel Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway * Hadsel (village), a village in Hadsel Municipality Hadsel () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Nordland Counties of Norway, county ...

Sortland Sortland may refer to: Places *Sortland Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland (town), a town within Sortland Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Sortland Church, a church in the town of Sortland in Sortland Municipa ...

, and

Øksnes Øksnes may refer to: Places *Øksnes Municipality, a municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Øksnes Church, a church in Øksnes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway *Øksnes, Trøndelag, a village in Steinkjer Municipality in Trøndelag count ...

. 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 () Hans Edvard Roll. This court employed a chief judge, one other judge, and two prosecutors. 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

On 26 April 2021, the court was merged with the

Ofoten District Court Ofoten District Court () was a district court in Nordland county (and a small part of Troms) in Norway. 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 ...

and

Trondenes District Court Trondenes District Court () 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, Skånland, and Ibestad. The c ...

to create the new

Midtre Hålogaland District Court Midtre Hålogaland District Court () 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 is subordinate to the Hålogaland Cou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesteraalen District Court Defunct district courts of Norway Organisations based in Sortland 2021 disestablishments in Norway