In court

When a criminal case is heard, both legally qualified judges (dommere) and lay judges (lægdommere) may take part in the proceedings.

Lay judges are ordinary citizens who are appointed for a four-year term to sit as lay judges in criminal cases. They sit alongside the legally qualified judges and play an equal role in deciding whether the defendant is guilty and, if so, what sentence should be imposed.

In most criminal cases heard by the district court, the bench consists of one legally qualified judge and two lay judges. This type of case is called a ”domsmandssag” in Danish. In some cases, for example where a more serious offence is involved, the court may be made up of three legally qualified judges and six lay judges. This type of case is called a ”nævningesag” in Danish.

In criminal cases heard by one legally qualified judge and two lay judges, the panel of judges sits on the bench with a clear view of the entire courtroom. In cases heard by three legally qualified judges and six lay judges, the legally qualified judges sit on the bench, while the lay judges/jurors (nævninge) usually sit in designated seats to one side of the courtroom.

One of the legally qualified judges acts as the presiding judge. The presiding judge is responsible for conducting the hearing and speaking on behalf of the court.

Everyone in the courtroom must stand whenever the judges enter or leave.

Before the court reaches a decision, the judges retire to a separate room to deliberate. During these deliberations, they decide whether the defendant is guilty and, if so, what sentence to impose.

In some cases, a court clerk (protokolfører) may also be present.

The court clerk assists the judge by writing the official record of the proceedings and recording what takes place during the hearing.

The court clerk usually sits alongside the judges at the bench.

A prosecutor (anklager) is a lawyer who represents the State (the prosecution service) in criminal proceedings. The prosecutor does not represent the victim. Once the police have completed their investigation, the prosecutor decides whether or not to bring formal charges. If so, the prosecutor will refer the case to the court.

The prosecutor must make this decision objectively. This means that the prosecutor must consider both the evidence suggesting the suspect is guilty and any evidence suggesting they are innocent. The prosecutor will only refer the case to the court if they believe there is sufficient evidence for the court to find the provisionally charged person guilty.

During the hearing in court, the prosecutor presents the case against the defendant. This includes, for example, questioning witnesses, reading out medical reports and showing technical evidence such as fingerprints or DNA analysis.

The prosecutor must remain objective throughout the proceedings. This means drawing the court’s attention to evidence suggesting that defendant is guilty as well as to information suggesting they are innocent.

The prosecutor will usually be the one to escort the victim and other witnesses into the courtroom. It is usually also the prosecutor who questions the witnesses first, just as it is the prosecutor who makes the first closing speech. Read more about the stages of criminal proceedings.

A defence counsel (forsvarer) is a lawyer who represents the defendant in a criminal case. Unlike the prosecutor, the defence counsel is not required to be impartial and acts solely in the interests of defendant.

The defence counsel’s role is to present any evidence and circumstances that support the argument that the defendant is not guilty of the charges brought by the prosecution service.

If the defendant is found guilty, the defence counsel’s job is to argue for the most lenient sentence possible. Once judgment has been delivered, the defence counsel advises the defendant on the options for appealing the judgment to one of Denmark’s high courts or the Supreme Court.

If the defendant is convicted, they will generally be required to pay the costs of the proceedings, including their defence counsel’s fees.

The defendant is the person whom the police have provisionally charged with a criminal offence and against whom the prosecution service brings formal charges to be tried by the court. In other words, the defendant is a person accused of an offence.

As a general rule, the defendant has the right to be present in the courtroom throughout the trial proceedings (hovedforhandlingen) and to hear witnesses give evidence. In certain circumstances, however, the court may decide that the defendant should not be in the courtroom while a particular witness gives evidence. In these cases, the defendant may listen to the testimony from a separate room via an audio link or have the witness statement read aloud.

If the defendant fails to attend court without a valid reason, the hearing may in some cases proceed in their absence.

During the hearing, the defendant sits beside their defence counsel. When the defendant gives evidence, they sit at the witness desk in the centre of the courtroom.

Before the judges retire to deliberate, the defendant is given an opportunity to address the court. It is entirely up to the defendant whether they wish to make a final statement.

Once judgment has been delivered, the defendant may decide whether to appeal to the high court.

A witness has been summoned by the court to testify about what they saw or experienced in connection with the crime. Witnesses have usually already been interviewed by the police.

It may also be a witness with professional expertise, such as a police officer or a forensic geneticist with specialist knowledge of DNA evidence.

Witnesses may be summoned by either the prosecutor or the defence counsel.

Witness testimonies are often an important part of the evidence in criminal cases. This includes both the victim and other people who witnessed the events or were otherwise involved.

Witnesses give their evidence from the witness desk in the centre of the courtroom.

Read more here if you have been summoned to give evidence as a witness.

As a general rule, court hearings in Denmark are open to the public. This means that members of the public and journalists are free to attend court hearings. People who attend to watch the proceedings are referred to as members of the public. The courtroom will have designated seating for members of the public.

In some cases, it may be necessary to restrict the public’s access to all or part of the hearing. This happens when certain considerations outweigh the public’s right of access. This is known as a hearing held in a private session (for lukkede døre). The court may also restrict access to a hearing in order to maintain order in the courtroom. The judge may order a person to leave the courtroom if they make disruptive remarks or otherwise disrupt the proceedings.