Far fewer court cases in 2020

Far fewer cases were heard last year in the Court of the Faroe Islands, the bailiff’s court and the probate and bankruptcy court compared to in 2019, reports Statistics Faroe Islands.

Of the approximately 4,000 cases last year, 1,300 were heard in the Court of the Faroe Islands, just over 2,000 in the bailiff’s court and some 500 in the probate and bankruptcy court. An additional 80 cases were heard by the Head Committee of Preservation.

Compared to 2019, 700 fewer cases were conducted in the Court of the Faroe Islands, 350 fewer in the bailiff’s court and 100 fewer in the probate and bankruptcy court. The number of cases heard by the Head Committee of Preservation remained unchanged last year.

Mostly civil cases

A vast majority of cases in the Faroese Court – about 980 in 2020 – are civil cases, i.e. cases dealing with disputes between individuals or private companies.

The number of civil cases peaked in 2008 with 2,000 cases. Since then, the annual number of civil cases has been on a steady decline, having now gone below 1,000, which is the lowest figure this century.

The annual number of criminal cases saw a steady increase at the turn of the century, going from 300 in 2000 to a peak of just over 800 in 2013. It has since returned to about 300. Criminal cases involve persons or companies accused of committing a criminal offence, which may result in a penalty or a sentence.

Read the Faroese version of this article here

Translated by prosa.fo

More Faroese News in English