The Labour Court Guidelines of 15 May 2008 for administrative procedures

1. Submission of complaints

Complaints and the exhibits attached thereto shall to the extent possible be mailed to klageskrifter@arbejdsretten.dk. A single copy is sufficient when forwarded in paper version.

Requests for the urgent hearing of cases (e.g. about pending, alleged unofficial stoppage of work or lockout) shall be clearly marked ’urgent’ and sent by mail to aretten@arbejdsretten.dk.
 
The employer side shall mark exhibits with numbers and the employee side shall mark exhibits with letters.
 
The claimants shall forward a copy of the material to the defendants.  

2. Preparation of cases

As far as possible, applications to the court during the current procedure shall be directed to aretten@arbejdsretten.dk.

The parties shall forward a copy of pleadings and exhibits attached thereo to each other.

Cases between organized parties

In the event that the claimant under the terms of the agreement with the defendant [1] requests that the preliminary hearing be scheduled for a particular ordinary court day (normally Thursday) occurring three weeks after the date of the receipt of the complaint or for a subsequent particular ordinary court day occurring within a period of six weeks, such request shall be complied with, and when there is room for the hearing in court. The defence shall be submitted by noon on the Friday of the week prior to the court hearing at the latest.

In the event that the claimant does not request a preliminary hearing on a particular date, the secretariat will in principle schedule the meeting to be held on the first succeeding ordinary court day occurring more than four weeks after the date of the receipt of the complaint and when there is room for the hearing in court. The defence shall be submitted by noon on the Friday of the week prior to the court hearing at the latest.  

In relation to non-pending work stoppages, the secretariat shall request no points of defence, but will simply schedule a preliminary hearing to be held on the first succeeding ordinary court day occurring at least six weeks after the date of the receipt of the complaint.

At the beginning of the preliminary hearing, the parties shall in principle submit lists stating the names, occupations and affiliations of the attendants.
 
At the hearing, it is presupposed that the party representatives are prepared, on the basis of the already exchanged pleadings, to argue any possible procedural issues and questions concerning the penalty assessment and to discuss the facts of the case with the member of the presidency of the court who hears the case.
 
In all other respects, the decision form aimed at shall be considered at the hearing, where the time schedule for the further procedure shall also be planned (scheduling time limits for the submission of further requisite pleadings; considering when the case is deemed to be completely prepared; scheduling further necessary preliminary hearings, in particular with regard to considering the procedural issues or handing over the resolution of the case to the presiding judge in pursuance of section 16 (3) of the Industrial Court Act; or scheduling the preliminary/final date for the full-court hearing). 

The aim is in general to have only two sittings of the court for each case; the preliminary hearing, summoned following the receipt of the claim, and a final hearing where the resolution of the case is handed over to either the presiding judge or full-court hearing. It is therefore imperative that the parties prepare themselves thoroughly for and participate in the first hearing.

Nevertheless, further preliminary hearings can be held. Requests for such a hearing shall be reasoned/a position shall be contemplated, and the other party’s point of view in this matter shall be obtained.

The Labour Court presupposes that the parties themselves arrange for the exchange of further pleadings etc. in compliance with the time schedule determined at the preliminary hearing.

2.1. Urgent cases

In cases relating to pending conflicts etc. (including alleged unofficial work stoppage or lockout) where the forward notice to the claim explicitly requests the court to urgently summon the parties, the secretariat will set a preliminary hearing on the first ordinary court day (normally Thursday) or, by specific request, on the first Monday.

It is a precondition that the claimant in advance has ensured that the defendant agrees to the hearing [2], and that the secretariat is notified hereof, no later than by noon as for the ordinary court days, and no later than by 9 am as for Mondays, and further that the secretariat in all cases receives the documents of the case no later than by noon on the day when the court hearing is to take place.

As a rare exception, in the event of extremely urgent cases, preliminary court hearings may be scheduled on other days than the above.

2.2. General cases against non-union employers

The secretariat will arrange for the service of the claim on the defendant which summons the defendant to respond in writing within two weeks after the service as well as informs the defendant of the implications of failure to respond.

In the event that the defendant does not respond, the case will be entered in the cause list for the first court day of the Head of Secretariat after the expiry of the time limit. It is not necessary for the claimant to be represented, as the court simply delivers judgment by default in compliance with the complaint, provided that this is reasoned by the statement of claim and the other information produced.

Where the defendant submits the defence, the secretariat will as a rule obtain a reply from the claimant and a rejoinder from the defendant prior to scheduling a preliminary hearing for a more explicit deliberation and potential closing of the case. Summons to the hearing are served on the defendant, who is not legally represented.

At the beginning of the preliminary hearing, the parties shall in principle submit lists stating the names, occupation and affiliations of the attendants.

In the event that the case cannot be resolved by either settlement or by promptly handing over the case to the ruling of the Head of Secretariat in pursuance of section 16 (3) of the Danish Labour Court Act, a time schedule shall be planned for the further case handling, to the extent this is possible, and time limits may be scheduled for the submission of further requisite pleadings. Additionally, further preliminary court hearings may be agreed upon in particular with regard to negotiations for reconciliation or the handing over of the case to the ruling of the Head of Secretariat.
   
In the event that the parties, or either of them, request(s) that the case be settled by a member of the presidency of the court or that a regular full-court hearing be held, the case shall be handed over to the ordinary court day for one of the presiding judges.
 

3. Full-court hearing

Upon the appointment of judges from the industry, the secretariat shall inform the parties of the names of the judges. Any inquiries in this respect shall be submitted to the secretariat. Unless otherwise agreed with the presiding judge, the parties shall each lodge a case summary, which, besides the claim, comprises the allegations, and states the documents upon which the party intends to rely and the evidence to be produced. Furthermore, the claimant shall prepare a draft bundle of documents and submit this to the defendant and hereafter prepare the final bundle of documents containing copies of relevant pleadings and transcripts of court records as well as any other material to be applied during the full-court hearing. Finally, the parties shall prepare the reports of cases and references, to which they intend to refer during the hearing.

When a bundle of documents has been prepared, no extra copies of the case documents need to be submitted. However, where it has been agreed that no bundle is to be prepared, the parties shall each submit copies of pleadings and exhibits as well as the relevant transcripts of court records. This material shall be submitted to the secretariat, from where it will be forwarded/handed over to the appointed judges. Unless otherwise agreed, the parties shall not themselves forward/hand over the material to the judges.

Nine paper copies of the material shall be submitted to the secretariat. In the event of an increased presidency, however, eleven paper copies shall be submitted. In the event that one of the parties requests that the full-court hearing also be presided by the presidency alone, three copies shall be submitted, and in case the presidency is increased, five copies shall be submitted.
 
The secretariat shall receive the material no later than ten days prior to the full-court hearing.
 
If, in exceptional cases, the material is submitted later than ten days prior to the full-court hearing, the party shall inform the secretariat hereof by phoning +45 3395 6722 or mailing  aretten@arbejdsretten.dk stating the time when the material will be submitted. It is here to be agreed upon how the material is to be handed over to the judges.
 
Well in advance of the full-court hearing, the parties should forward a time schedule. Furthermore, either party should notify the secretariat and the opposing party when additional witnesses are called, in the case of the secretariat preferably by mail to aretten@arbejdsretten.dk.
 
Immediately before the commencement of the full-court hearing, the parties shall submit lists stating the names, occupation and affiliations of the attendants, preferably in two copies.
                                                                                                                                                
These guidelines became effective on 1 June 2008.

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[1] The Confederation of Danish Employers and The Danish Federation of Trade Unions have agreed that as a general rule it is desirable that cases be scheduled for the first ordinary court day three weeks after the court has received the complaint, and that in this case, the court and the other party receive the defence within a reasonable time prior to the preliminary hearing. In the event that the complaint is forwarded later than three weeks after the joint meeting, the time limit for submitting the defence shall be prolonged by the number of days passed after the three weeks, however not more than two weeks, unless the time limit has been prolonged by further three weeks following a reasoned request in writing to the court.

[2] The Confederation of Danish Employers and The Danish Federation of Trade Unions have agreed that in respect of urgent cases, complaints shall be received by the opposing organisation no later than by noon on the day prior to its expected hearing, in cases where the joint meeting has been held on a Wednesday no later than by 10 am on Thursday, if this is when the case is expected to be heard. In the event of requests to urgently hear the case on a Monday, the opposing organisation shall receive the complaint no later than by noon on the Friday, in cases where the joint meeting was not held until Friday or Saturday, no later than by 10 am on the Monday. The Danish Federation of Trade Unions has informed that The Danish Federation of Trade Unions cannot be expected to agree to meeting earlier than agreed with the Confederation of Danish Employers .