Denmark
Courts in Denmark
One ordinary hierarchy — district courts, two high courts, the Supreme Court — that also decides constitutional and administrative cases, administered by the independent Danish Court Administration.
Facts on this page were checked against their sources on .
Denmark has a single ordinary court system. Cases begin in one of the twenty-four district courts (byretterne); appeals go to one of the two high courts, the High Court of Eastern Denmark (Østre Landsret) and the High Court of Western Denmark (Vestre Landsret); and the court of final instance is the Supreme Court (Højesteret). There are also two specialised courts of first instance, the Maritime and Commercial Court and the Land Registration Court.
The same idea, explained generally
- What do courts do?
Courts resolve disputes, test the state’s case against individuals, interpret law, and review public decisions. This guide explains those functions and why judicial independence is structural.
- What is due process?
Due process is the requirement that the state follow fair, established procedures before it takes action against a person. This guide explains what it typically includes and how it differs between systems.
Sources
Sources
National justice systems — Denmark (European e-Justice Portal)
European Commission (European e-Justice Portal) · International organisation · link verified 2026-07-26
The European Commission's e-Justice portal page on Denmark, read directly and re-confirmed in the verification pass. Supports the court hierarchy — the Supreme Court (Højesteret) at the apex, two high courts (Østre and Vestre Landsret), the Maritime and Commercial Court, the Land Registration Court, and 24 district courts (byretterne), plus the courts of the Faroe Islands and Greenland — and that there is no constitutional court and no separate administrative courts (constitutional and administrative questions are decided within the ordinary courts). Also establishes the independent Danish Court Administration (Domstolsstyrelsen), created 1 July 1999, over which the Minister "has no powers of instruction".
The Constitutional Act of Denmark (Danmarks Riges Grundlov), 1953 — English translation
Constitute Project (reproduction of the official English translation) · Other · 1953 · link verified 2026-07-26
The 1953 Constitutional Act, read from the Constitute Project reproduction of the standard official English translation, because the Folketing's own PDF was behind a Cloudflare challenge. Cross-confirmed by the adversarial verification pass. Supports Section 3 (judicial power vested in the courts of justice), Section 62 ("The administration of justice shall always remain independent of the executive power"), Section 63 (the courts may decide any question on the scope of the executive's authority — the basis for judicial review within the ordinary courts, there being no separate administrative-court branch), and Section 64 (judges directed solely by the law; security of tenure). The authoritative text is Danish. The constitutional section number of the ombudsman provision was NOT relied on (the accessible rendering and the widely-cited official number differ); the ombudsman is cited from its own statutory basis instead.