Supreme Court of Norway in the context of "United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway"

In Norway, the district court (Norwegian: tingrett, literally "thing court") is the first court instance, and handles both criminal and civil cases. The chief judge of a district court is the chief district judge (Norwegian: sorenskriver).

The ruling of the district court may be appealed to the next level of court, the court of appeal, and the court of appeal's ruling may in turn be appealed to the supreme court, but only in select cases of precedential relevance admitted by the supreme court. Thus the vast majority of court cases are decided on by the district court or the court of appeal.

The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of King Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing golden lion on a red background, bearing a golden crown and axe with silver blade (blazoned Gules, a lion rampant Or, crowned Or, holding an axe Or with a blade argent).

The coat of arms is used by the King (including the King's Council), the Parliament, and the Supreme Court, which are the three powers according to the Constitution. It is also used by several national, regional, and local authorities that are subordinate to the aforementioned, for example the County Governors and both the district courts and the courts of appeal. Since 1905, two parallel versions exist: the more elaborate version used by the King and the simpler one used by the State. The arms in banner form serve as basis for the monarch's flag, known as the Royal Standard.

Law in Norway follows a civil law system. The Supreme Court is the highest in the nation, with 20 justices.

The judiciary of Norway is hierarchical with the Supreme Court at the apex. The conciliation boards only hear certain types of civil cases. The district courts are deemed to be the first instance of the Courts of Justice. Jury (high) courts are the second instance, and the Supreme Court is the third instance.

The court of appeal (Norwegian: 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 (førstelagmann) and several appellate judges (lagdommer). The courts are administered 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.

The Agder Court of Appeal (Norwegian: Agder lagmannsrett) is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which falls under the Gulating Court of Appeal). These areas constitute the Agder judicial district (Norwegian: Agder lagdømme). This court can rule on both civil and criminal cases that are appealed from one of its subordinate district courts. Court decisions can be, to a limited extent, appealed to the Supreme Court of Norway. The court has 21 judges and 13 administrative staff, including a director. The chief judicial officer of the court (Norwegian: førstelagmann) is currently Dag Bugge Norden. The court is administered by the Norwegian National Courts Administration.