The Ombudsman (JO) directs strong criticism against Falu District Court due to their long processing times, reports Falu-Kuriren. It can take three years for old criminal cases to be decided.
After an inspection by the district court, the Ombudsman writes that “in several of the oldest criminal cases there were extended processing times with long periods of total inaction” and that the district court “did not work effectively with service”.
The Ombudsman considers that the situation is very serious and that the district court must work more strategically.
– This is something we have been embarrassingly aware of. We know that some cases have been pending for a long time, says Lars-Erik Bergström, lawyer for Falu District Court, to the newspaper.
He believes that the district court is overloaded, which has affected certain cases. He believes that the solution is to hire more staff, including judges, administrators and notaries.