DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Thomas Norvold, Søren Locher, Anne Mie Lund and Pawel Weigel, Fabritius Tengnagel & Heine
ing party may, under the same conditions, present a corresponding statement, even if this statement could only be obtained after the case was initiated. Only the parties to the case can introduce expert tes- timonies during a lawsuit. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public In civil lawsuits, the level of intervention by a judge is normally limited. As described in 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence , the court can ask questions to the parties if their claim, arguments or statements are unclear, and the court may encour- age a party to state their position on both factual and legal issues that appear to be relevant to the case, or request a party to submit documents, inspections or expert assessments. Although there is a legal basis for such intervention, it rarely occurs in practice, as the court will normally assess the case based on the arguments and evidence presented by the parties. 7.8 General Timeframes for Proceedings In 2024, the average processing time for civil cases in district courts was 13.7 months, reflecting an increase of 0.5 months compared to 2023. See 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings . 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge In the high courts, the average processing time for first-instance civil cases was 44 months in 2024, an increase of 6.4 months compared to 2023. Civil appeal cases had an average processing time of 11 months. The average processing time for civil appeal cases in the Supreme Court was 7 months in 2024, represent- ing a decrease of 5.3 months compared to 2023. Although the average processing time for civil cases in the district and high courts has increased compared to the previous year, it is expected to decrease in the coming years due to a political agreement on the judi- ciary’s budget for the period 2024-2027, which was reached by all political parties in the Danish Parlia- ment on 22 November 2023 (see 14.1 Proposals for Dispute Resolution Reform ).
The processing time may vary depending on the nature of the case, including the number of court days required for the final hearing in court. Process- ing times also vary across different district courts, with courts in larger cities generally experiencing longer processing times. 8. Settlement 8.1 Court Approval Court approval is not required to settle a lawsuit; the parties can settle the case at any time. 8.2 Settlement of Lawsuits and Confidentiality The parties to a court case can settle the case by presenting a settlement before the court. Such a set- tlement is entered into the court’s records and can be subject to requests from interested third parties for access to such documents (see 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings ). The parties involved in a court case can choose to settle the matter out of court. Once they reach an agreement, they can inform the court of the settle- ment. As this settlement is not recorded in the court documents, it cannot be accessed by interested third parties seeking information. 8.3 Enforcement of Settlement Agreements Settlements that are entered into court records are (directly) enforceable. Settlements that are not entered into court records are also enforceable if: • the settlement is in writing; • the settlement concerns overdue debt; or • it is explicitly stipulated in the settlement that it can serve as the basis for enforcement. 8.4 Setting Aside Settlement Agreements Settlements are agreements that are contractually binding on the parties involved. If a settlement is valid under Danish contractual law, it cannot be annulled.
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