Telemark District Court () was a

district court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

located in

Telemark Telemark () is a Counties of Norway, county and a current electoral district in Norway. Telemark borders the counties of Vestfold, Buskerud, Vestland, Rogaland and Agder. In 2020, Telemark merged with the county of Vestfold to form the county o ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. This court was based at three different courthouses which were located in

Skien Skien () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative ...

Notodden is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden. Other population centres include the villages of Bolkesjø, G ...

, and

Kviteseid Kviteseid is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Vest-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Kviteseidbyen. Other villages in Kviteseid ...

. The court was subordinate to the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which ...

. The court served the 17 municipalities in Telemark county. *The courthouse in

accepted cases from the municipalities of

Bamble Bamble is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Langesund ...

Drangedal Drangedal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestestranda. Other villages in Drangedal include Bø i Tørdal, ...

Kragerø Kragerø () is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Grenland and the smaller Vestmar. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kragerø. Villages in Kragerø include H ...

Nome Nome may refer to: Country subdivision * Nome (Egypt), an administrative division within ancient Egypt * Nome (Greece), the administrative division immediately below the ''peripheries of Greece'' (, pl. ) Places United States * Nome, Alaska ...

Porsgrunn is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Porsgrunn (town), city ...

, Siljan, and

. *The courthouse in

accepted cases from the municipalities of

Fyresdal Fyresdal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Moland. Other villages in Fyresdal include Kilegrend, Øvre Bir ...

Nissedal Nissedal is a rural Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark region of Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Districts of Norway, traditional regions of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centr ...

Seljord Seljord is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Upper Telemark and Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Seljord. Other villages in the municipalit ...

Tokke Tokke is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Vest-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Dal ...

, and

Vinje Vinje is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Vest-Telemark which is part of Øvre Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Åmot. Other villages in the muni ...

. *The courthouse in

accepted cases from the municipalities of

Hjartdal Hjartdal is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Upper Telemark and Aust-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sauland. Other villages in the municipality ...

Midt-Telemark Midt-Telemark is a Districts of Norway, traditional district of Norway situated in Telemark county. It is made up of two municipalities: Midt-Telemark (municipality), Midt-Telemark and Nome, Norway, Nome. The largest population centres in the regio ...

, and

Tinn Tinn is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional districts of Aust-Telemark and Upper Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan. Some of the villages in Tinn include Atr� ...

. The court was led by a chief judge () and several other judges. The court was a

court of first instance A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

. Its judicial duties were mainly to settle criminal cases and to resolve civil litigation as well as

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. The administration and registration tasks of the court included death registration, issuing certain certificates, performing duties of a

notary public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

, and officiating civil wedding ceremonies. Cases from this court were heard by a combination of professional judges and

lay judges A lay judge, sometimes called a lay assessor, is a person assisting a judge in a trial. Lay judges are used in some civil law jurisdictions. Lay judges are appointed volunteers and often require some legal instruction. However, they are not perma ...

History

This court was established on 26 April 2021 after the old Aust-Telemark District Court, Nedre Telemark District Court, and Vest-Telemark District Court were all merged into one court. The new district court system continued to use the courthouses from the predecessor courts. On 10 June 2025, the court was dissolved and divided into two new courts: Nedre Telemark District Court (coastal parts of the county) and Øvre Telemark District Court (inland parts of the county).

References

{{authority control Defunct district courts of Norway 2021 establishments in Norway 2025 disestablishments in Norway Courts and tribunals established in 2021 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 2025 Organisations based in Skien Organisations based in Notodden Organisations based in Kviteseid Telemark