As lawyers, we are used to conducting legal proceedings in courts and arbitration courts.
Attorney Søren Vasegaard Andreasen is admitted to the Supreme Court and is familiar with the courts, so if you need legal assistance for an ongoing or possible lawsuit, you are very welcome to contact us for advice and guidance.
We are familiar with all types of courts in Denmark, including
We make a point of ensuring that you feel comfortable and understand the procedure for handling your legal case.
Which court should be used, what costs can be expected, do you have legal aid insurance and are there any witnesses? These are all four topics that you will be introduced to in connection with a court case. Below you can read more about the individual topics.
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In Denmark, we have so-called ordinary courts and specialized courts. The ordinary courts are the City Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court. The specialized courts are the Maritime and Commercial Court, the National Tax Court and the Housing Court. Finally, there are the Arbitration Courts, which are either established ad hoc for a specific case, or are specialized courts within a specific area, such as the Arbitration Court for Construction and Civil Engineering, which decides cases concerning construction.
The main rule is that all cases must be filed in the district court, and as a rule are also heard by the district court. Cases can only be heard in the High Court as the first instance if one of the parties requests the District Court to refer the case because it is believed that the issues the judges must decide on are of a fundamental nature. If the judge in the District Court agrees that the case is a matter of principle, the case can be heard in the High Court as the first instance. A case can never start in the Supreme Court, as we in Denmark have a principle that everyone should have the opportunity to have their case heard by at least two courts, and since the Supreme Court is the highest court, the Supreme Court's decisions cannot be appealed.
In exchange for virtually all cases starting in the District Court, the parties have been given the opportunity to request that three judges participate in the case, just as there always are in the High Court, compared to normally only one judge in the District Court.
A case can only come to the Supreme Court after having been heard in at least one other court of law before. Cases that start in the High Court can always be appealed to the Supreme Court due to the two-instance principle. Cases that start in the Maritime and Commercial Court can also in most cases be appealed directly to the Supreme Court. Cases that start in the City Court can always be appealed to the High Court, but if one of the parties wishes to appeal to the Supreme Court after the City Court case has been heard in the High Court, this will require special permission from the Trial Authorization Board. The Trial Authorization Board will generally only grant permission to hear the case in third instance if the case is considered to be of a fundamental nature. This is particularly the case if the case contains issues that have not previously been heard by the Supreme Court, or if it has been many years since the Supreme Court last ruled on a similar issue, or if the outcome of the case could have a major impact on a large group of people.
In Denmark, only jurors participate in criminal cases. In criminal cases where the defendant has pleaded guilty, jurors do not participate. Jury trials are held in both the District Court and the High Court. The way it works is that the jurors and judges each decide whether they believe the defendant is guilty. If the jurors acquit the defendant, he is acquitted. However, if the jurors believe the defendant is guilty, the judges can still choose to acquit the defendant if the judges do not believe there is sufficient evidence.
The Maritime and Commercial Court primarily handles international commercial cases. For example, it is very common for two businessmen, who are domiciled in their own countries, to agree that if a dispute arises between them, the case will be decided according to Danish law by the Maritime and Commercial Court. There is no requirement that one of the parties must have a connection to Denmark.
The National Tax Court is the highest appeals court for decisions made by the tax authorities regarding, among other things, tax returns and property valuations. Both lawyers and non-lawyers participate in the decisions of the National Tax Court. The decisions of the National Tax Court can be appealed to the High Court.
Both lawyers and non-lawyers also participate in cases before the Housing Court. Cases before the Housing Court are conducted in the same way as cases before the City Court. The difference is primarily that three judges participate, two of whom are not lawyers but instead elected by landlord and tenant organizations, respectively. The Housing Court makes decisions in cases concerning the rental of housing or commercial premises.
The arbitration courts are private courts that the parties can only use if agreed upon and if the Arbitration Court believes it has the necessary qualifications to handle the case. Decisions from the Arbitration Court cannot be appealed as a general rule.
In addition to the Danish courts, there are also international courts.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg hears cases where EU law must be interpreted. If a Danish court has a case where there is doubt about the interpretation of an EU law, it is the European Court of Justice that decides how the EU law should be interpreted. It is the court where the case is being heard that decides whether the European Court of Justice should be consulted.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg decides whether a state has violated the European Convention on Human Rights. A case against the public sector can only be brought before the Court of Human Rights, and only after the citizen has gone through the Danish legal system and lost.
At the start of the trial, a court fee of at least DKK 500 must be paid (cases up to DKK 50,000 in value). If the case is worth more than DKK 50,000, the court fee is increased according to the value of the case. For cases worth DKK 100,000, a court fee of 2 x DKK 1,350 must be paid.
You must pay for the costs of your own lawyer. We will inform you of our hourly rates and, where possible, provide you with an estimate of our total fees for handling the entire case.
If you win the lawsuit, your opponent will have to reimburse you for some of your legal fees. The court will decide how much your opponent must pay you.
If you lose the lawsuit, however, you must both pay the bill from your own lawyer and cover part of your counterpart's costs for that lawyer.
Legal aid insurance covers your costs of pursuing legal proceedings, although with a lower deductible. We must submit an application to the insurance company on your behalf, as the insurance company must assess whether you have reasonable grounds to pursue the case.
All family insurance policies include legal aid coverage, just as it is found in all private comprehensive insurance policies for, for example, cars and boats. Business owners must take out independent legal aid insurance themselves.
Free trial covers all your costs of conducting a lawsuit. There is no deductible. You can get free trial if you have a very low income or if it is a matter of principle. We will submit an application on your behalf either to the Civil Service Board or the court where the case will be conducted.
All private individuals have legal aid insurance linked to their family insurance, which can cover the costs of taking legal action. The insurance company will assess whether they believe you have reasonable grounds to take legal action, and if they do, they will cover the legal costs up to normally DKK 75-125,000. However, there will be a deductible for you.
Companies must take out legal aid insurance themselves, as a supplement to their business insurance, if they want to be covered. We always seek legal aid coverage on your behalf when the basis for doing so is present. In small cases (cases worth less than DKK 50,000), however, the insurance only covers the main hearing in court, while you yourself must pay the costs of having a lawyer for the preparation. This is because the court has an extended duty to provide guidance in this type of case.
If you are summoned as a witness in a court case, you are obliged to appear, as long as you have been notified at least one week in advance. In criminal cases, you can be summoned as a witness, as long as you are notified the evening before. The lawyer should inform you in the summons about what you will have to give evidence about, if you do not already know about the case. This way you can prepare for the questioning.
The witness must wait outside the courtroom until called in. This is because the witness is not allowed to hear what other witnesses have said and thus be influenced by what others say. However, once the witness has given his or her statement, the witness is allowed to stay and hear the rest of the case.
As a witness, you have a duty to tell the truth. If you lie, you can be imprisoned or fined. The same applies if you do not appear, even if you have received a summons to appear. However, as a witness, you cannot be punished for not being able to remember specific circumstances.
You are not obliged to meet with the lawyer before the hearing, but it is very normal for the lawyer and the witness to talk before the hearing so that both can prepare.
You can only avoid giving evidence if you are related to one of the parties, or if you risk being punished for violations of the law by giving evidence. Priests, lawyers, doctors and journalists are largely exempt from giving evidence, as they are subject to confidentiality.
As a witness, you are entitled to witness compensation. The compensation is DKK 80, plus coverage of transportation expenses. If you can prove that you have lost your earnings, you can have the loss covered.
It is complicated to conduct a lawsuit, and in the vast majority of cases you will be best off letting us as a lawyer conduct the case on your behalf. However, this is associated with certain costs. You can read about the possibilities for legal aid coverage and free trial here.
The following is a brief overview of the proceedings at the district court.
First, you need to be able to explain what it is you want to achieve. What do you expect to get if you win the lawsuit?
If it is about money, you must be able to explain how you came to the conclusion that the other party owes you the amount in question. If it is about a bill that has not been paid, attach the bill. If it is more complicated, create a spreadsheet where you explain the amounts, and attach documents that prove that the other party owes you each individual amount.
If it is not about money, then you may be demanding that your counterparty either perform a specific action (e.g. cut down a tree, or allow you to have contact with your children), or that the counterparty fail to perform a specific action (e.g. that the counterparty stop driving across your property, must vacate their tenancy, or must paint their black glazed bricks).
The most important thing is that your claim is something that the court can enforce, possibly with the help of the police. For example, the court cannot rule on a claim that your neighbor is not allowed to buy a red car, or that your sister is not allowed to be the girlfriend of one of your friends.
You should gather all documents that are in any way relevant to the case. These could be, for example:
Are there people who have seen or heard something that is relevant to the claim you are making? Then you can demand that they come and give evidence in court. It is a good idea to ask the witness first if they want to testify, and what they remember about the incident in question. Just so that you are not unpleasantly surprised the day you stand in court.
Once you have your claim and evidence in order, you need to put it all together in a writ of summons that you send to the court. You do this at www.minretssag.dk.
There is a court fee to file a summons, and the court fee must be paid at the same time you file the summons.
The summons is then sent to the other party, who is given a period to object to your claim. If the other party does not object, you will automatically receive a judgment against the other party, which you can then demand payment from. If the other party objects, however, you will be given the opportunity to make your comments on the objections.
The court will then usually convene a preparatory hearing, where the case will be reviewed in general. This meeting always takes place over the telephone. The court will usually examine the possibilities of getting the parties to reach a settlement.
If the case is not settled, it will ultimately be heard in court. This is where you will present all your evidence, and your witnesses will give their statements. You must remember to ask your witnesses to appear. Once the court has heard all the evidence from both parties, each party will have the opportunity to hold a summary procedure, where you will summarize why you should be right in the case, and what evidence and legislation you use to support your claim.
The court will then issue a judgment. The judgment is final, but for monetary claims over DKK 20,000, the case can usually be appealed to the High Court if the judgment is not upheld.
The winner of the case is usually entitled to have his costs of bringing the case covered. This means that the other party must reimburse you for your court fees and partly for your own lawyer's costs. The court decides how much the other party must pay you to cover your legal costs. If you have had a technical expert report prepared during the case, the other party must also reimburse the costs of having it prepared, if it was of importance to the case.
If, on the other hand, you lose the case, you must cover the other party's costs for their lawyer and other relevant costs incurred by the other party.
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