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The court of appeal ((ノルウェー語:lagmannsrett), lit. ‘lawman's court’) is the second level of courts of justice in Norway, reviewing criminal and civil cases appealed from the district courts. There are six courts of appeal, each covering a jurisdiction and based in a city. Each court is led by a senior judge president (''lagman'') and several appellate judges (''lagdommer''). The courts are administrated by the Norwegian National Courts Administration. Decisions from civil and criminal matters, except the question of guilt, can be appealed from the courts of appeal to the Supreme Court.〔 ==Criminal cases== In criminal cases where the crime is punishable by no more than six years in prison, the court consists of three professional judges and four lay judges; all seven have equal votes in the decisions. In order to convict, five of the seven judges must vote for conviction.〔See e.g. information on criminal cases from (Moss tingrett ) (section "Dommen") 〕 Even if the bench is reduced because of a recusal, the requirement for five guilty votes remains, as was the case in the trial of Atle Torbjørn Karlsvik, who was acquitted after four judges voted to convict, while two voted to acquit.〔(Karlsvik frikjent ) VG, February 29, 2008 〕 Lay judges are members of the public without legal qualifications, that are appointed for periods of four years by the city and county councils. When a jury is appointed, fourteen regular and two deputy members are called, with the prosecution and defense able to remove up to two members.〔 In criminal cases where more than six years of prison can be handed down, the court will have a jury of ten people deciding the guilt, as well as three professional judges who preside over the case and determine sentencing. In order to convict, at least seven of the jury members need to vote for conviction. The verdict of the jury is usually final, but can be overturned by the professional judges who then order a retrial. This happened in the NOKAS robbery case.〔(- Tilsidesettelse av frifinnelse er bittert for forsvarerne ) VG January 19, 2007 〕 The jury system has been under criticism because no reason is given for the verdict, and it has been proposed replacing it with a bench of three professional judges and six lay judges.〔(Slutt på gammel juryordning ) Aftenposten December 31, 2008 〕 A majority in parliament support replacing the jury system, with Venstre the only party clearly in favor of keeping it.〔(Stortingsflertall mot juryordningen ) NRK, December 28, 2008 〕 The Supreme Court of Norway are also considering whether the jury system is in violation of a verdict from the European Court of Human Rights which found the Belgian system a violation of human rights. The reason was the possibility of being acquitted with a stated reason in a district court, and then convicted without any stated reason in the appellate court.〔(Juryordningen kan være i strid med EMD ) Stavangeravisen February 27, 2009 〕 The chief prosecutor in Norway, Tor-Aksel Busch, has been critical of the jury system, and pointed out the large number of acquittals in rape cases as a problem, since the acquittals are often based on victim blaming and sympathy with the defendant.〔(- Juryordningen uheldig for voldtektsofre ) VG March 15, 2007 〕 Proponents of the jury system argue that it is the best way to keep the public's involvement in the court process and protect against wrongful convictions, and out of the hands of the judges. Defense attorneys like Sigurd Klomsæt〔 and Frode Sulland〔(Behold juryen! ) Letter by Frode Sulland in Dagbladet August 25, 2008 〕 have defended the jury system. Sulland argued that pointing to the acquittal rate in rape cases as an argument to abolish the jury, is tantamount to lowering the burden of proof. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Court of appeal (Norway)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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