The district court
All criminal cases in Denmark in which formal charges are brought must be heard by a district court. There are 24 district courts throughout Denmark. On the website of the courts, you can read more about which court has jurisdiction in your area.
A criminal case may be handled in different ways. This generally depends on the sentence that the prosecution requests for the defendant. As a general rule, criminal cases are heard either by a panel of lay judges (domsmandssag) or by a jury (nævningesag).
Most criminal cases in the district court are concluded in one day. Some cases take longer, for example major financial crime cases, which may extend over several days of hearings.
Trials with lay judges
The court hears the case as a so-called “domsmandssag” (trial with lay judges) if the defendant pleads not guilty and the prosecutor requests a sentence of more than 30 days’ imprisonment, or if the case otherwise has particularly serious consequences for the defendant. In a trial with lay judges in the district court, one professional judge and two lay judges take part in deciding the case.
If a trial with lay judges is appealed to the high court, the case continues to be heard with lay judges. Here, three legally qualified judges and three lay judges decide the case.
Jury trials
The court hears the case as a jury trial if the defendant pleads not guilty and the Prosecution Service believes the sentence should be six years’ imprisonment or more, for example in homicide cases. In a jury trial in the district court, three legally qualified judges and six jurors decide the case.
If the case is appealed to the high court, it continues as a jury trial. Here, three legally qualified judges and nine jurors decide the case.
Guilty-plea cases
If the provisionally charged person admits to the offence, the case may also be heard as a guilty-plea case. Neither lay judges nor jurors take part in guilty-plea cases.
Preliminary statutory hearings
In some cases, the Prosecution Service may request that a provisionally charged be remanded in custody while the case is being investigated. This is also referred to as ”fremstilling i dommervagten” arraignment before a judge on duty. The district court judge decides whether the provisionally charged person should be remanded in custody. The judge makes the decision at a court hearing known as a ”grundlovsforhør” (preliminary statutory hearing). It is called a “grundlovsforhør” because the “Grundlov” (the Constitutional Act) sets out the requirement that anyone who is arrested must be brought before a judge within 24 hours.
The high court
There are two high courts in Denmark: The Western High Court in Viborg and the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen.
The Western High Court hears cases from the district courts in Jutland. The Eastern High Court hears cases from the district courts in the rest of Denmark as well as cases from the Faroe Islands and Greenland.
In Denmark, you generally have the right to have your case heard at two levels of the judicial system. This means that a case from the district court can normally be appealed to the high court. Both the defendant and the Prosecution Service may appeal the judgment. When the case is heard by the high court, it is referred to as an appeal case.
The high court hears criminal cases either as a trial with lay judges or as jury trials. This depends on the nature of the case.
Trials with lay judges
If a trial with lay judges is appealed to the high court, the case continues to be heard with lay judges. Here, three legally qualified judges and three lay judges decide the case.
Jury trials
If a jury trial is appealed to the high court, it continues as a jury trial in the high court. Here, three legally qualified judges and nine jurors decide the case together.
If the appeal does not concern the assessment of the evidence of the defendant’s guilt, but only the sentencing, the case is heard with lay judges in the high court.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in Denmark. One of its tasks is to clarify any uncertainty as to how the law should be interpreted.
The Supreme Court does not rule on the question of guilt. The question of guilt is determined finally by the high court. The Supreme Court considers whether the law has been applied correctly and what sentence is appropriate. Neither jurors nor lay judges take part in the hearing of criminal cases before the Supreme Court.
Only special cases are heard by the Supreme Court. For example, a case may be appealed from the high court to the Supreme Court if it has implications for how similar cases should be decided or if it is of particular importance to society.
It is the Appeals Permission Board (Procesbevillingsnævnet) that decides whether a case may be appealed to the Supreme Court.