District courts of Sweden

The district court handle criminal cases, some civil law disputes and a number of non-contentious matters.

[1][3][5] The district court also handles a number of other non-contentious matters; such as adoption and appointment of legal guardians.

In order to be accepted for training as a judge one must be a Swedish citizen, hold a degree of bachelor of law at minimum and earned qualifications as a court clerk.

Lay judges are laymen, not legally qualified representatives of the people, appointed by the municipal assembly, serving four years at a time.

Another exception is if the value of the claim is obviously low (not exceeding approximately SEK 22,000 in 2012), then the quorum is also one legally qualified judge.

If there is reason to believe that the next instance would arrive at a conclusion different from that of the district court, a leave to appeal will be granted.