hovioikeuksiin

Hovioikeuksiin, or courts of appeal, are intermediate appellate courts in many Nordic countries, primarily Finland and Sweden. Their main function is to review decisions made by lower courts, known as käräjäoikeus (district courts) in Finland and tingsrätt (district courts) in Sweden. This review process, called an appeal, allows parties who are dissatisfied with a lower court's judgment to have it re-examined.

The jurisdiction of hovioikeuksiin typically covers both civil and criminal cases. They do not conduct entirely new trials but rather examine the evidence and proceedings from the original trial. The appellate court can uphold the lower court's decision, overturn it, or modify it. In some instances, the hovioikeus may order a new trial in the lower court if significant procedural errors are found.

Appeals to a hovioikeus are generally not automatic. A party must formally file an appeal, often within a specified time limit. The court then decides whether to grant leave to appeal, meaning whether it will hear the case. If leave is granted, the court will review the case based on the existing documentation and may hear arguments from the involved parties.

The decisions of a hovioikeus can, in turn, be appealed to the highest court of the land, such as the Korkein oikeus (Supreme Court) in Finland or the Högsta domstolen (Supreme Court) in Sweden. However, such appeals are usually only accepted if they concern matters of significant legal principle or if there is a perceived misapplication of the law. The hovioikeus therefore plays a crucial role in ensuring the fair administration of justice by providing a layer of judicial review.