Indre Finnmark District Court
Indre Finnmark District Court is a district court located in the village of Tana Bru in Finnmark county, Norway. The court covers the south central part of the county which includes the municipalities of Nesseby, Tana, Karasjok, Porsanger and Kautokeino. The court is subordinate to the Hålogaland Court of Appeal. The court is led by the chief judge Finn-Arne Schanche Selfors.
This court has a chief judge, two other judges, three prosecutors, and one linguist to help with the bilingual nature of this court. The court was established on 1 January 2004 and its official opening was on 23 June 2004. The court was established by a recommendation to support the Sami language-speaking region of Finnmark.
This court is officially bilingual in that all work may be done in either the Norwegian language or the Northern Sami language. The court has an additional responsibility that other district courts do not have: to protect the customs and identity of the Sami people as well as the rights of Sami-speaking people to have the full access of the law in this court.
The court is a court of first instance. Its judicial duties are 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 Hålogaland Court of Appeal.
