District courts of Sweden

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

There are 48 district courts across Sweden, and the catchment area is based on the geographic boundaries of several municipalities.

[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.