More judges and bigger courtrooms agreement

The finances for the country’s courts in 2024 and until 2027 have been put in place, with focus on reducing case processing times, according to the broad political agreement with all parties in Parliament that Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard is presenting. In total, the courts will receive DKK 2.3 billion over the four-year period. “We are adding a huge resource boost to the courts, while at the same time addressing a number of different points and simplifying the administration of justice in order to overcome the long processing times in the courts,” Hummelgaard said at a press conference.
     Money is being set aside to hire more judges and to increase courtroom capacity around the country so that the increasing number of cases with many defendants can be settled. In addition, more court lawyers and clerical staff are to be recruited, while the age limit for retired judges working as on-call judges is raised from 72 to 74. The parties have agreed to increase the jury limit from four to six years and increase the appeal limit for civil cases from DKK 20,000 to DKK 50,000. In addition, it is stipulated by law that, as a general rule, the fact that an accused person has confessed must be included as a mitigating circumstance. /ritzau/