Supreme Court of Denmark

The Supreme Court of Denmark (Danish: Danmarks Højesteret; lit. "highest court") is the supreme court and highest court of appeal within the Danish Realm, including the Kingdom of Denmark. It is headquartered at Christiansborg Palace in central Copenhagen, which also houses the Danish Parliament and the offices of the Prime Minister of Denmark and several senior members of the Cabinet of Denmark. The Supreme Court of Denmark consists of 18 justices: the highest-ranking justice on the Supreme Court is called the Chief Justice of Denmark (Danmarks Overdommer), with the other 17 justices referred to as "puisne justices" (juniordommere; sg. juniordommer). The Chief Justice is appointed by the Danish monarch on advice of the Parliament of Denmark; the Chief Justice in turn chooses the puisne justices.

According to Danish constitutional law, immediately below the Supreme Court of Denmark are the three appellate courts of the three constituent countries of the Danish Realm, namely the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and the Danish Antilles, and below those the three countries' high courts: the Court of Appeal of Denmark, Faroe Islands Court of Appeal and Danish Antilles Court of Appeal, and the High Court of Denmark, Faroe Islands High Court and Danish Antilles High Court. The courts of appeal have the power to hear verdicts of the respective country's high court or one of its district courts (the lowest level); high courts are responsible for handling the most serious cases as well as cases with a nationwide scope of effect.

The Supreme Court of Denmark only hears the most serious cases, as well as appeals of verdicts of one of the three courts of appeal. The Supreme Court's decision on an appeal is final, and as such it is considered Denmark's court of final instance.