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The courts of justice

The courts of justice hold the judicial power in Denmark. They decide if a person has broken the country's laws. They also settle disagreements between 2 parties in civil cases.

Større

Everybody has the right to a fair trial. This is stated in the European Convention on Human Rights. This means, among other things, that the courts of justice must pass judgment on a court case within a reasonable time frame and that the courts of justice must be independent and impartial.

The independence of the courts of justice in Denmark is determined in the Constitutional Act. This establishes the tripartition of power: Parliament pass the laws of Denmark, the Government governs on the basis of these laws, but only the courts can decide how the passed laws are interpreted and pass judgment on their basis.

The judges can only be guided by what the law states and the preliminary work connected to it. They must not be influenced by Parliament, the Government, the press or any others when passing judgment on a case.

It is only by changing the law that Parliament or the Government can change the courts’ jurisdiction, procedures, or organization.

The Government also cannot depose a judge. Only another judge can do this. If the Government could fire or transfer a judge, it could raise doubts about the independence of the courts.

3 bodies of justice

The courts in Denmark have 3 bodies: District Court, High Court and Supreme Court. All trials usually start out in the District Court.

District Court

Denmark has 24 District Courts. These are located around the country. The District Courts process cases such as civil cases, criminal cases, registration cases and probate cases. 

High Court

Denmark has 2 High Courts: The Western High Court in Viborg and the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen. The High Courts mainly process cases of appeal from the District Courts. This means cases in which a District Court has already passed judgment.

If a District Court believes that a case is of a principal nature, it may also be referred directly for processing in the High Court.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest court in Denmark. Among other things, it judges cases that have consequences for how judges must decide on similar cases (precedence). It also decides on cases that are of particular societal interest. The only Supreme Court in Denmark is located in Copenhagen.

In many EU countries, special administrative or constitutional courts may be in use. This is not the case in Denmark. Here, the ordinary courts – in practice the Supreme Court – examine whether the judgments passed by the authorities are legal or if they are in dispute with the Constitutional Act.

Criminal cases

In a criminal case, you are charged with breaking the penal code. The court must decide if the accused has committed the crime and in that case decide on the punishment according to the relevant sections in the penal code.

Civil cases

In a civil case, a civil party (the plaintiff) sues another party (the defendant). The plaintiff wants the defendant to be sentenced to e.g., pay an amount or acknowledge a right that the plaintiff believes to have in relation to the defendant. Civil parties may be private citizens, businesspersons, a company, the state, a municipality, the estate of a deceased person or an estate in bankruptcy.

The defendant and the prosecuter may both appeal a case – i.e. complain about the judgment passed by the court at which the case has been tried. You can appeal a case if you want a higher court to pass judgment on whether the decision is correct and fair. If you appeal a case at a District Court, the appeal case will be tried at the High Court. Some small cases can usually only be tried at the District Courts. These cannot be appealed to the High Courts.

At the appeal trial, the question of guilt is once again raised as well as the extent of the penalty. The right of appeal is meant to ensure that nobody is penalized for something they have not done or that they receive too mild or too harsh a penalty.

Civil cases may also be appealed.

Ordinary citizens (lay judges) may be involved in judging certain cases, so that the judgment reflects the opinions and values of the population. Lay judges participate on equal footing with the legal judges. The lay judges help decide whether the defendant is guilty or not as well as deciding which penalty the defendant should receive.

The courts use juries in cases where the prosecution requests that the defendant receives a sentence of 4 or more years of prison or is sentenced for custody or detention. This may be cases of e.g. murder, serious violence, or robbery. Usually, jury cases are tried by the District Courts. There are 3 legal judges and 6 jurors in the jury. In the High Court, there are 3 legal judges and 9 jurors in the jury.

The jurors are ordinary citizens.

Ministers may be tried in the Court of Impeachment

A Minister is responsible for the way in which they administer their office. If it is suspected that a Minister has broken the rules for the conduct of Ministers, the Constitutional Act or the legislation in general, the Government or Parliament may demand that they are tried by the Court of Impeachment. This is a special court that processes cases against Ministers for the administration of their office. The rules for the Court of Impeachment may be found in the Act on the Court of Impeachment.

Cases in the Court of Impeachment may in principle also be tried against other people, if the Government or Parliament finds that the crime is particularly dangerous to the state. However, this has never happened.

A Minister may be penalized if they, e.g.:

  • have given wrongful information to Parliament
  • have withheld information of significant importance to Parliament
  • have been a contributory factor in illegal administration of the legislation

A Minister may be tried in the Court of Impeachment even if they are no longer the Minister.

The Court of Impeachment is made up of up to 15 Supreme Court judges and an equivalent number of members appointed by Parliament.

The politically elected members are appointed by Parliament every 6 years. For each of the politically appointed members, 2 alternates are chosen. The politically appointed members are included so that political expertise is accounted for in cases against Ministers. One cannot be a member of both the Court of Impeachment and Parliament at the same time.

When the politically elected members have been appointed, the Court of Impeachment gathers to select a president and vice-president. After this, the Court of Impeachment does not convene until the Government or Parliament decides to prosecute a Minister.

Only 6 cases have been tried in the Court of Impeachment since it was established in 1849. Only 3 Ministers have ever been found guilty.