Nordhordland District Court


Nordhordland District Court was a district court in Norway serving the Nordhordland and Midhordland 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. The Nordhordland District Court was co-located with the Bergen District Court at the Bergen Tinghus at Tårnplads 2 in Bergen. Cases can be appealed to Gulating Court of Appeal.
The Nordhordland District Court was expanded on 1 January 2006 when the old Midhordland District Court was merged into it. Also in 2006, the old Voss District Court and Ytre Sogn District Court were dissolved and Voss Municipality and Gulen Municipality were moved to the jurisdiction of this court. On 1 January 2017, the Nordhordland District Court was merged into the Bergen District Court creating the largest district court in Norway.
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 include death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a notary public, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court are heard by a combination of professional judges and lay judges. Cases from this district court may be appealed to the Frostating Court of Appeal.

Courthouse

Bergen Tinghus was designed by architect Egill Reimers 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.

Gallery