The courts and other dispute resolution bodies - StatRes (discontinued), 2010

Own production: Defined as the costs that an activity has and which are used to carry out activities and produce services. In principle, this consists of wage costs, the purchase of goods and services and capital costs. Data for capital costs, i.e. depreciation and imputed interest as a result of tied capital, is not available for most of the activities included in StatRes, including the courts and the other dispute resolution bodies. Capital costs are not therefore included in the calculation of the amount for own production. Since the activities within the sub-area only rent the premises that they use, the costs for depreciation and tied capital are probably so marginal that the lack of data is of little significance to the calculation of own production. The basis for the amount is items 1-29 in the national accounts.

Wage costs are defined as the total remuneration payable to the employees, including social security contributions. Reimbursements are subtracted. In addition, for some enterprises an estimated amount, due to lack of pension contributions to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, is included in the wage costs, see Data sources and sampling under Production.

Estimated premium to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund: The activities within The courts and other dispute resolution bodies do not pay pension premiums directly to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, where the employees are members. These premiums, together with similar premiums for a number of other public sector activities, are instead paid in a collective transfer from the treasury to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. As these premiums are not included in the reported wage costs, the reported wage costs show a lower level than is actually the case. A 15 per cent mark-up is therefore applied to the reported wage costs (excluding reported employer’s NI contributions), which roughly corresponds to the level by which direct paying activities charge to their accounts. A corresponding mark-up is also applied in StatRes for all activities that do not have costs for pension premiums included in their accounts.

Purchase of goods and services: Includes the value of used intermediate products and services in the production. The starting point for the size is reported amounts in item 1-29, sub-post 21-29, ref. circular 101.

Transfers: Covers subsidies and other money transfers to the private and local government sector, i.e. items 60-79 in the national accounts. The basis for the amount is the book amount for these items.

Investments: Acquisitions and major maintenance work in connection with property, or major acquisitions of assets with a long-term value. The starting point for the size is reported amounts in item 30-49, ref. circular 101. Any revenues from corresponding sales are deducted.

Own production in NOK per capita: The amount for own production in NOK divided into average population in the statistics year. This average is calculated by adding the number of inhabitants in Statistics Norway’s official population statistics at the start and end of the statistics year and dividing the total by two.

Input measured in contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves:

Contracted man-years adjusted for long term leaves is defined as the sum of the number of full-time jobs and part-time jobs converted to full-time equivalents, excluding man-years lost due to doctor-certified absence and parental leave.

Activities and services and results:

Processed cases: All cases that have been processed in the relevant instance during the year of the statistics. Each case can have numerous defendants and where this is the case will be registered as one case.

Criminal cases:A criminal case is a case between a person who has allegedly committed an offence and the State (via the prosecuting authority). Where the prosecuting authority does not wish to take legal action, the aggrieved party can, in certain cases, bring a private prosecution. This seldom happens. The statistics on the courts’ processed criminal cases includes both criminal cases with verdicts on the question of guilt and sentencing and criminal cases in connection with investigations (imprisonment, custody, searches, communication control etc.). The case is first processed in the District Court, then where necessary in the Court of Appeal, and finally in the Supreme Court.

Civil cases: The court’s job in civil cases is to resolve legal disputes between two or more parties. The rights and duties of parties with regard to each other and the authorities are determined in civil cases.

Processing time: The average processing time refers to the processing time of cases that have been processed and concluded during the relevant period.

Court of first instance: The courts of first instance are mainly the District Courts in Norway. Legal proceedings for all prosecution trials and civil actions are initiated in the District Court. The District Court is also the appellate body for decisions by the Conciliation Board.

Each District Court covers its own geographic area. This is known as a judicial district, and is made up of one or more municipalities. Oslo has two courts of first instance; Oslo City Court and Oslo Office of the City Recorder. The Oslo Office of the City Recorder mainly processes cases concerning provisional security, compulsory orders, bankruptcies, debt settlements and administration and division of joint ownership cases and deceased persons’ estates, in addition to notarial acts, including performing marriages. With regard to the rest of Norway, the District Court processes all types of cases. As of 1 January 2010, there are a total of 67 courts of first instance in Norway (all the District Courts plus the Oslo Office of the City Recorder).

Court of second instance: The Court of Appeal is the ordinary court of second instance, and processes appeals against decisions by the courts of first instance and appeals against individual decisions by the land consolidation courts and land appeal courts. In addition, the Court of Appeal is the court of first instance for judicial reviews of decisions by the National Insurance Appeals Council. Norway has six courts of appeal, and these cover their own geographically defined jurisdiction, which is known as a judicial district. The Court of Appeal is headed by a senior presiding Court of Appeal judge, who normally acts jointly with one or more presiding judges. The ordinary judges are known as appellate court judges.

Supreme Court: The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land and is the appellate body for all decisions made by the Court of Appeal. There is only one Supreme Court in Norway and this is located in Oslo. The decisions that are made here are final, pursuant to the Constitution of Norway, and carry no right of appeal. However, two special exceptions apply to cases that can be taken to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva.

Before a case can be processed in the Supreme Court, it must first be dealt with by three Supreme Court judges in the Appeals Selection Committee of the Supreme Court. The Appeals Selection Committee is part of the Supreme Court and replaced the former selection committee known as &“kjæremålsutvalg´´ in Norwegian (which was a court in its own right). This change came into force on 1 January 2008, cf. the new Dispute Act of Norway. The Appeals Selection Committee makes a broad assessment of such aspects as the fundamental characteristics of a case. This forms the basis for the decision on whether consent is given to submit the case to the Supreme Court. The Selection Committee further acts as a relief instance, and can make final decisions in certain types of cases.

The Supreme Court judges serve on the Selection Committee according to a rota system.

Land Consolidation Court: The Land Consolidation Court is a special court that deals with cases founded on the Land Consolidation Act (Norway). Its work mainly relates to property conversions, facilitating cooperation across property boundaries, clarifying the legal status of real estate, determining property boundaries and various assessments.

The Land Consolidation Court is a court of first instance, and Norway as 34 such courts. Appeals against decisions and legal resolutions made in the first instance may be lodged to the Court of Appeal, while the Land Appeal Court is the appellate body for matters relating to land consolidation, among other things.

Land Appeal Court: The Land Appeal Court is the appellate body for cases dealt with in the Land Consolidation Court. The right of appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Land Appeal Court is limited. As a general rule, appeals may be lodged against matters of procedure and points of law to the Court of Appeal, cf. Section 71 of the Land Consolidation Act.

Disputes: A dispute is a civil dispute between private parties. Disputes are normally initiated in the Conciliation Board. One judge is normally appointed for disputes in the District Court, unless the parties request two associate judges, or if the court finds this appropriate.

Single-judge cases: The term "single-judge case" is used in connection with criminal cases dealt with by a judicial judge, in addition to a court witness who is present. Examples of single-judge cases are cases where the defendant makes an unreserved confession (summary trial on a plea of guilty), and cases in connection with investigations (imprisonment, custody, searches, communication control etc.).

Composite court in the District Court : In criminal cases dealt with in a main hearing, the court normally has one judicial judge as the presiding judge and two associate judges. The associate judges are selected by drawing lots from the municipal committee of associate judges. In cases of crimes that, according to the law, can carry a prison sentence of more than six years, the chief justice may decide that the court should sit with two judges and three associate judges.

Appeals against rulings in civil cases: When appeals against rulings in civil cases are processed in the Court of Appeal, the court has three judges and four in the special cases as defined in the Dispute Act (Sections 9-12 and 29-17). The parties may request that two jurors are also assigned to the court, and in cases where specialist knowledge is required, the court may appoint associate judges with specialist knowledge in the area that the case relates to.

Limited appeal professional judges : This is described in the court system as trial by judge and comprises appeals against matters of procedure, points of law or punishment given (not the issue of guilt) in cases where the maximum sentence is six years’ imprisonment. The court sits with three judges.

Limited appeal in composite court : Appeals against matters of procedure, points of law or punishment given (not the issue of guilt) in criminal cases where the sentencing framework is imprisonment of more than six years. The court sits with three judges and four jurors, cf. Section 332 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Full appeal in composite court : Appeals relating to the assessment of evidence in the question of guilt in criminal cases where the maximum sentence is six years’ imprisonment. The court deals with both the question of guilt and penal sanctions, and sits with three judges and four jurors.

Full appeal jury case : These are known as jury cases in the court system and comprise appeals related to the question of guilt in criminal cases where the sentencing framework is imprisonment of more than six years. The court sits with three judges and a jury, which consists of 10 jurors, cf. Section 352 of the Criminal Procedure Act. The jury determines the question of guilt. Their decision is normally final, but may be overruled by the judges in special cases. The punishment is set by the three judges together with the chairman of the jury and three other jury members who are selected by drawing lots.

Penal sanctions given in court: The statistics include all legally binding penal sanctions with no right of appeal concluded in the court, which are registered during the year that the statistics apply to. The main types of penal sanctions are fines, unconditional or conditional imprisonment, community sentence and special sanctions (preventive detention, compulsory mental health care and compulsory care). Since the individual sanction is regarded as a unit, a person who is given a sanction several times in the course of the year will be included in the statistics the same number of times as they receive a sanction.

Category of offence: A standard that divides offences into two areas; crimes and misdemeanours. A crime is a legal offence of a more serious nature than a misdemeanour. Crimes and misdemeanours pursuant to the General Civil Penal Code are covered in sections 2 and 3 of the legislation. Legal offences described in other legislation are, according to Section 2 of the General Civil Penal Code, crimes with a sentencing framework of more than three months’ imprisonment, unless otherwise specified. The remainder of legal offences are misdemeanours.

In addition to the difference in the degree of seriousness of misdemeanours and crimes, the procedure is simpler for misdemeanours than for crimes. With regard to misdemeanours, the police decide whether charges should be made or not, while this is determined by the public prosecutor for crimes. Misdemeanours can, to a greater degree than crimes, be resolved with a ticket fine. When processing misdemeanours, no defence counsel is normally required. Certain violations (e.g. damage of property and some special laws) can in law be classed as both crimes and misdemeanours. Whether the relevant action is regarded as a misdemeanour or crime is specified in the statistics that use the standard for Type of offence. For a further description, see Standard classifications.

Group of offence: A standard that divides the offences into up to 10 main groups. The standard is used by both Statistics Norway and the police, but some statistics use the standard to only group crimes. For a further description, see Standard classifications.

The population is based upon the Central Register of Establishments and Enterprises’ (BoF), units that are classified as a central government enterprise. The institutional grouping of the economy into sectors is a standard that is based on recommendations for the National Account structure, provided by the United Nations. Norway’s institutional grouping of sectors is based on the Eurostat’s ESA 1995 , which recommends that each country should design their own sector structure which is adapted to the nation’s distinctive characteristics. The central government is a sub-sector within the general government.

Expenditure is classified by the structure of the national account, which broadly corresponds with the definitions in IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 ( GFSM2001 ). The expenditure is classified into groups, based on whether it is related to the enterprise’s own production of service, transfers in cash or in kind, or investments. In a few cases, the definitions are deviated for the purpose of a more realistic picture of the use of resources.