The publication of court decisions should ensure the right of the public in a democratic society to access information on court practice. The publication is also intended to support the dictates of the constitution and the principle of judicial procedure in public proceedings. Those rules are intended to provide judicial restraint and to help citizens to trust that all citizens enjoy equal rights in the process of judicial resolution.

As a principle, court decisions must be published on the websites of the courts. However, there are exceptions to that rule, especially regarding the decisions of district courts.

No sooner than after one hour
A decision shall not be published online until at least an hour has passed since the pronouncement, which gives the lawyer the opportunity to inform his/her client about the outcome of the case.

Within 14 working days
The courts have up to 14 working days from the date of the pronouncement to publish the decision online.

Publication postponed
The court may delay publication if the investigative interests of a criminal case so require.

The decisions of district courts are not published in the case of:

• A claim for bankruptcy

• A petition for probate

• Request for authorization to suspend payment

• Request for permission to seek composition agreement.

• Cases under the Act on Legal Competence No. 71/1997

• A request to appoint an assessor

• Request for a ruling based on the Act on Missing Persons No. 44/1981

• Cases under the Child Protection Act No. 80/2002.

• Cases under the Children’s Act No. 76/2003.

• Cases under the Marriage Act No. 31/1993.

• Cases on inheritance.

• Application for direct execution proceedings (dispossess proceedings)

• A ruling that is part of the running of a case and does not include its final result

• Civil cases where there is no defence

• Requirement for a ruling under the provisions of Chapters IX to XV of the Criminal Procedure Act No. 88/2008

• Request for amendment or repeal of measures under Article 62 of the General Penal Code No. 19/1940

• Criminal cases where the fine is below the appeal amount

In certain cases, the chief judge may decide to depart from this rule. He/she may therefore decide to publish a decision that according to the above list should not be published, as well as deciding not to publish a decision that should have been published. The chief judge must record the reasons for his/her decision in the courts' case file.

Previous court decisions

When the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court are published the relevant decisions of lower courts shall be included, or a link to them.