Court of appeal (Norway)

The court of appeal (Norwegian: lagmannsrett, lit. ‘lawman's court’) is the second level of courts of justice in Norway, reviewing criminal and civil cases appealed from the district courts. There are six courts of appeal, each covering a jurisdiction and based in a city. Each court is led by a senior judge president (lagman) and several appellate judges (lagdommer). The courts are administrated by the Norwegian National Courts Administration. Decisions from civil and criminal matters, except the question of guilt, can be appealed from the courts of appeal to the Supreme Court.

In criminal cases where the crime is punishable by no more than six years in prison, the court consists of three professional judges and four lay judges; all seven have equal votes in the decisions. In order to convict, five of the seven judges must vote for conviction. Even if the bench is reduced because of a recusal, the requirement for five guilty votes remains, as was the case in the trial of Atle Torbjørn Karlsvik, who was acquitted after four judges voted to convict, while two voted to acquit.

Lay judges are members of the public without legal qualifications, that are appointed for periods of four years by the city and county councils. When a jury is appointed, fourteen regular and two deputy members are called, with the prosecution and defense able to remove up to two members.

In criminal cases where more than six years of prison can be handed down, the court will have a jury of ten people deciding the guilt, as well as three professional judges who preside over the case and determine sentencing. In order to convict, at least seven of the jury members need to vote for conviction. The verdict of the jury is usually final, but can be overturned by the professional judges who then order a retrial. This happened in the NOKAS robbery case.

The jury system has been under criticism because no reason is given for the verdict, and it has been proposed replacing it with a bench of three professional judges and six lay judges. A majority in parliament support replacing the jury system, with Venstre the only party clearly in favor of keeping it. The Supreme Court of Norway are also considering whether the jury system is in violation of a verdict from the European Court of Human Rights which found the Belgian system a violation of human rights. The reason was the possibility of being acquitted with a stated reason in a district court, and then convicted without any stated reason in the appellate court.

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