The criminal justice process

Investigation

When a crime is reported, the police will first assess whether there is a reasonable presumption that a criminal offence has been committed. For example, the police may reject a report if the conduct reported does not constitute a criminal offence.

When the police investigate a crime, they often interview people who may help solve the case. The police may also need to examine technical evidence, such as fingerprints, DNA evidence, telecommunications data or video recordings.

Provisional charges

The police will charge you provisionally if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that you have committed a criminal offence. If you are provisionally charged, the police will inform you of the offence you are charged with. As a person who is provisionally charged in criminal proceedings, you have a number of rights, which the police will also inform you about.

If you are provisionally charged, the police may in some cases examine your clothing during the investigation. They may also take photographs, weigh and measure you, or take your fingerprints. This is referred to as a non-intimate body search (legemsbesigtigelse).

If the police carry out a more extensive examination of your body, for example to find objects, this is referred to as an intimate body search (legemsundersøgelse). The police may also decide to carry out less intrusive forms of intimate body search, such as taking a blood sample. More intrusive forms of body search generally require a court order unless you consent.

Body searches are often carried out in connection with an arrest.

Arrest

You may be arrested if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that you have committed a criminal offence.

The police may arrest you to ensure your presence, prevent you from committing further crimes or prevent you from interfering with the investigation. An arrest must be necessary.

Once the police have completed the investigation, the Prosecution Service will decide what should happen next.

The Prosecution Service will bring formal charges against you if it considers that there is sufficient evidence for the court to find you guilty. Bringing formal charges means that the case is referred to the court with an indictment setting out the offence the person is charged with. You, who were previously provisionally charged, have now been formally charged.

A victim in criminal proceedings cannot decide whether formal charges should be brought.

When the court receives the indictment, a date and time will be set for the hearing. You – the defendant – and any witnesses, including victims, will then be summoned to attend.

Pleading guilty

If you admit to the offence you have been provisionally charged with, the case may be decided as a guilty-plea case. This means that you admit that you committed the offence you have been provisionally charged with.

The Prosecution Service will refer the case to the court with a charge sheet setting out the offence. You will receive a copy of the charge sheet. The court will then set a hearing date, and you will be summoned to attend.

As a general rule, no witnesses will be examined, and only limited evidence will be presented. Instead, the case will primarily concern the sentence you should receive.

Thus, the prosecutor and your defence counsel will focus on the sentencing.

If you plead guilty and the case can be dealt with by imposing a fine, it will generally not be heard by the court.

A case may be concluded without going to court if, for example, the Prosecution Service considers that the evidence is not strong enough for a court to convict you. In that case, no formal charges will be brought, and you will receive a notice that the prosecution has been withdrawn (påtaleopgivelse). This means that the case ends there. In some cases, victims may appeal the Prosecution Service’s decision to withdraw prosecution. In some cases, you may be able to file a claim for compensation (link).

For less serious offences, you may instead receive a decision that charges are dropped (tiltalefrafald), or you may be ordered to pay a fine.

Fine

If the offence is punishable by a fine, the police will initially send you a fixed-penalty notice.

The fixed-penalty notice describes what the case is about and states the amount you must pay. It will also state whether the case involves, for example, confiscation or disqualification from driving. The notice will also specify the deadline for deciding whether you accept the fixed-penalty notice and, if you do, the deadline for paying the fine.

If you admit what happened and accept the notice, the case is concluded.

If you do not accept the notice, the case will be referred to the court.

If you want the case dealt with at a court hearing, you must state this before the deadline. The deadline is stated in the notice. The court may, without further notice, convict you of the offence referred to in the fixed-penalty notice unless you request a court hearing before the deadline specified in the notice. The court’s decision cannot be appealed.

Dropped charges

A decision to drop charges means that the Prosecution Service considers you guilty of a criminal offence, but that no trial will take place. If the Prosecution Service decides to drop charges, you will receive a letter informing you of this. In some cases, the decision to drop charges may include conditions that you must comply with. You may appeal the Prosecution Service’s decision to drop charges.

A victim in criminal proceedings cannot decide whether criminal proceedings should be brought against you. The Prosecution Service makes this decision. If the Prosecution Service decides not to bring formal charges against you, the victim will be notified.

When the Prosecution Service refers a case to the court, a date and time will be set for the hearing. Then you and any witnesses will be summoned to attend.

The hearing itself is called the trial proceedings (hovedforhandling).

As a defendant, you will usually be assigned a defence counsel (link). If you do not have a defence counsel, you may ask the witnesses questions yourself and comment on the case.

In the district court

In the district court, the hearing begins with the prosecutor reading out the indictment. The indictment describes the offence that the case concerns. Afterwards, your defence counsel will inform the court whether you plead guilty. Then your evidence will be taken, first by the prosecutor and then by your defence counsel.

You decide whether you want to give a statement. You are not required to give a statement or answer questions.

After that, the witnesses will be examined one at a time. They are generally first examined by the prosecutor and then by the defence counsel. If there are documents that are relevant to the case, such as a medical certificate or a criminal record, the prosecutor will read them out after all the witnesses have given evidence.

Finally, the prosecutor and the defence counsel will present their closing arguments in the case. During the closing arguments, the prosecutor and the defence counsel will typically address the question of guilt first. In other words, whether you are guilty or not. They will then explain what sentence they consider appropriate if you are found guilty.

Once the closing arguments have been concluded, you will have the opportunity to make your own final comments.

The judges will then leave the courtroom to deliberate. This means that they will consider whether you are guilty and, if so, what sentence you should receive.

When the judges have finished deliberating, they return to the courtroom and pronounce the judgment. If the judgment cannot be delivered immediately, the case will be set down for judgment. This means that the judgment will be delivered at a later date. During the hearing, the judge will announce when the judgment will be delivered.

In the high court

If you, as the defendant, or the Prosecution Service appeals the judgment, the high court will hear the case.

In the high court, the hearing usually begins with the reading of the district court’s judgment. The Prosecution Service will then present the documents in the case.

If you wish to answer questions, you will give evidence. The examination will usually begin with your statement from the district court proceedings being read out. The prosecutor and the defence counsel will then have the opportunity to ask supplementary questions.

Once you have finished giving evidence, the witnesses will be examined. The examination will usually begin with the witness statement from the district court proceedings being read out. The prosecutor and your defence counsel may then ask supplementary questions. The witnesses will normally be examined first by the prosecutor and then by your defence counsel.

When you and all the witnesses have given evidence and the documents in the case have been presented, the prosecutor and the defence counsel will present their closing arguments. You will also have the opportunity to make any final comments.

The judges will then leave the courtroom to deliberate. When the judges have finished deliberating, they return to the courtroom and pronounce the judgment. If the judgment cannot be delivered immediately, the case will be set down for judgment. This means that the judgment will be delivered at a later date. The judge will announce when the judgment will be delivered.

A judgment in criminal proceedings is the court’s decision as to whether you are guilty and what sentence you should receive.

The court delivers its judgment once all evidence has been presented and the defence counsel and the prosecutor have presented their closing arguments. In some cases, the court delivers judgment several days after the hearing. The judge will announce when the judgment will be delivered.

When a judgment is read out, everyone in the courtroom must stand.

If you have been convicted in the district court and disagree with the decision, you may appeal the judgment to the high court if you have been sentenced to:

• imprisonment;
• a sentence involving a special measure, such as placement in psychiatric detention or psychiatric care;
• a fine of more than DKK 20,000 in total or confiscation of items worth more than DKK 20,000, provided that you were present at the hearing before the district court.
• other public-law consequences, such as disqualification from certain rights, but not disqualification under the Danish Road Traffic Act.

In other cases, permission from the Appeals Permission Board is required in order to appeal. This will typically require that the case raises an issue of general public importance.

The Prosecution Service may also appeal the decision to the high court.

A victim in criminal proceedings cannot decide whether a judgment should be appealed to the high court. This is a decision for you or the Prosecution Service to make.

You may appeal the judgment orally in the district court immediately after the judgment has been pronounced. You may also appeal the judgment in writing to the Prosecution Service or to the district court that heard the case. Your defence counsel and the district court can advise you on how to appeal.

The time limit for appealing a judgment is 14 days from the date on which the judgment was delivered.

If you were absent when the judgment was delivered without a valid reason and the court issued a so-called default judgment (udeblivelsesdom) in your absence, you will be notified of the judgment. In that case, the time limit for appealing is 14 days from the date on which you received notification of the judgment.

Sentencing

If the court finds you guilty, you may be sentenced to pay a fine or to imprisonment. A prison sentence may be unconditional, suspended or a combination of the two.

An unconditional sentence means that you must serve a prison sentence for the period determined by the court. In some cases, you may serve your sentence using an electronic ankle bracelet (fodlænke). Read more about serving a sentence on the Danish Prison Service’s website.

A suspended sentence means that you do not have to go to prison if you comply with a number of conditions during a probation period. This includes, among other things, that you must not commit further criminal offences. The court may also impose other requirements, such as supervision, treatment or community service. If you violate the terms, the court may order you to serve your prison sentence.

The court may also decide to disqualify you from exercising a right, for example the right to drive, confiscate assets or order you to pay compensation to the victim.

Costs of the case

If the court finds you guilty, you will generally be required to pay the necessary costs incurred in connection with the case.

The costs in the case will include, among other things, expenses for your defence counsel. They may also include costs related to technical examinations, such as DNA analyses or medical reports.

After the judgment is delivered, the public authorities will collect the costs incurred in the case.

Acquittal

If the court finds that you are not guilty of the offence for which the Prosecution Service brought formal charges, the court will acquit you.

If the Prosecution Service disagrees with the court’s decision, it may appeal the case to the high court within 14 days of the judgment being delivered.

In some cases, you may be entitled to apply for compensation following an acquittal.

Once judgment has been delivered in a case, the court will send you a copy of the judgment. The judgment will be accompanied by information about your right to appeal (link).

If you are acquitted, you may in some cases be entitled to compensation. This applies, for example, if you have been arrested or held in remand custody.

You must submit your compensation claim no later than two months after the proceedings against you have been concluded.

The Prosecution Service will assess whether you are entitled to compensation. If you disagree with the decision, you may have the matter heard by the court.

Your defence counsel and the Prosecution Service can advise you about your options for seeking compensation.

Serving a sentence

If you are sentenced to imprisonment, you will be summoned to serve your sentence once the case has been concluded.

The Danish Prison Service (Danmarks Fænglser) will summon you to serve your sentence and decide where you will serve it. In some cases, you may serve your sentence at home using an electronic ankle bracelet. You will receive notification through Digital Post or by letter. As a general rule, you will be notified at least one month before you are required to begin serving your sentence.

Guidance on serving a sentence is available on the Danish Prison Service’s website. The website also contains guidance for relatives.