The courts of appeal in Sweden (Swedish: hovrätt) are the second instance on issues relating to criminal cases, contentious cases and other judicial issues that have already been dealt with by a district court.
A judge who presides over a division is titled Senior Judge of Appeal (Swedish: hovrättslagman), and the head official of the appellate court is titled President, Court of Appeal (Swedish: hovrättspresident).
Lay judges are laymen, not legally qualified representatives of the people, appointed by the county councils, serving four years at a time.
During the imperial era, additional courts of appeal were introduced in order to relieve the original Svea hovrätt.
If one of the legally qualified judges is prevented from adjudicating after the commencement of the main hearing, the bench nevertheless constitutes a quorum.
If there is no reason to impose a sanction more severe than fines in a criminal case, three legally qualified judges constitute a quorum.