Nordhordland District Court

Nordhordland District Court (Norwegian: Nordhordland tingrett) was a district court in Norway serving the Nordhordland and Midhordland (except for the city of Bergen) in Hordaland county, as well as Gulen Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county. The court served the municipalities of Askøy, Austevoll, Austrheim, Fedje, Fjell, Fusa, Gulen, Lindås, Masfjorden, Meland, Modalen, Os, Osterøy, Radøy, Samnanger, Sund, Vaksdal, Voss, and Øygarden. The court was subordinate to the Gulating Court of Appeal. The court was led by the chief judge (Sorenskriver). The Nordhordland District Court was co-located with the Bergen District Court at the Bergen Tinghus at Tårnplads 2 in Bergen.

Nordhordland District Court
Nordhordland tingrett
Bergen Courthouse
60.393547°N 05.3216171°E / 60.393547; 05.3216171
Established1591
Dissolved31 Dec 2016
JurisdictionNordhordland
LocationBergen, Norway
Coordinates60.393547°N 05.3216171°E / 60.393547; 05.3216171
Appeals toGulating Court of Appeal

The court was a court of first instance. Its judicial duties were mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as bankruptcy. The administration and registration tasks of the court included death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court were heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges.[1]

Courthouse
Plaque at the main entrance of Bergen Tinghus

Bergen Tinghus was designed by architect Egill Reimers[2] in a neoclassical style during 1933 and it is considered one of his main works. The brick building has 25 courtrooms covering six floors plus basement and loft. At the main entrance on Tårnplass, there are four granite statues representing the cardinal virtues: wisdom, justice, moderation and strength. The sculptures were designed by artists Nic Schiøll and Stinius Fredriksen.[3][4][5][6]

History

The court was first established in 1591 when the district court system was created in Norway. On 23 December 1773, the parish of Evindvik was transferred from this court to the neighboring Ytre Sogn District Court. On 1 January 1848, the Nordhordland District Court was divided, with the southern parts becoming the new Midhordland District Court (the northern part kept the old Nordhordland name). On 1 January 2006, the old Midhordland District Court was merged (back) into the Nordhordland District Court. Also in 2006, the old Voss District Court and Ytre Sogn District Court were both dissolved and Voss Municipality and Gulen Municipality were moved to the jurisdiction of the Nordhordland District Court.[7] On 1 January 2017, the Nordhordland District Court dissolved and its jurisdictional areas were merged into the Bergen District Court.[8] On 26 April 2021, Gulen Municipality was moved from this court's jurisdiction to the neighboring Sogn og Fjordane District Court.[9]

References
  1. Gisle, Jon, ed. (26 February 2022). "Tingrett". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. Nils Anker. "Egill Reimers". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  3. "Bergen tinghus". Kunsthistorie. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  4. "Tinghuset". Bergen byleksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  5. Svein Aamold. "Nic Schiøll". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  6. Even Hebbe Johnsrud. "Stinius Fredriksen". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  7. "Domstolkartet forandres i Hordaland og Rogaland" (in Norwegian). Norges domstoler. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  8. "Ny tingrett for Bergen og Nordhordland" (in Norwegian). Norges domstoler. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  9. "Forskrift om inndelingen av rettskretser og lagdømmer". Lovdata.no (in Norwegian). 12 April 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

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