Retten i Viborg advertises public defender post under ten-year beneficium

Retten i Viborg has advertised a vacant beneficium for a lawyer to be appointed as public defender and to conduct cases for parties with free process in the court district, with applications due on Tuesday 8 December 2026 at 23:55. The notice was published in Statstidende on 12 November 2026 under the heading “Ledigt hverv som beneficeret advokat ved Retten i Viborg”, official reference S10112026-258. The appointment itself is made by Civilstyrelsen on behalf of the justice minister, following recommendations from the district court and from Vestre Landsret.

The legal framework is Justitsministeriet’s cirkulæreskrivelse nr. 9418 af 30. juni 2020 on the appointment of beneficerede advokater, which the notice invokes. A beneficium is granted for a fixed period of ten years, and an already granted beneficium is extended on application for a further ten-year period without the post being re-advertised, unless special grounds speak against it.

A brief covering two court levels

The lawyer appointed must accept beskikkelse as offentlig forsvarer and must take on cases for parties who have free process, or for whom a lawyer is otherwise appointed under the rules of the Administration of Justice Act. The brief covers Retten i Viborg and also Vestre Landsret, but only for cases heard by the high court that were handled, or referred, by Retten i Viborg at first instance.

The post is a personal one and carries a duty to appear in person in the cases assigned. The place of service is Retten i Viborg, Klostermarken 10, 8800 Viborg.

Qualifications that decide the outcome

The notice states that decisive weight is placed on the applicant’s qualifications, assessed on the following points:

• Experience with criminal cases and criminal law more generally.
• Right of audience before a high court (møderet for landsret).
• Litigation experience, including from civil cases; experience with civil and family-law cases may also count.
• Demonstrated skill and commitment in the practice of law, as it appears to the court’s judges.
• The need for geographical spread of lawyers within the court district, which may also be taken into account.
• Applicants who do not already hold a beneficium in another court district will be preferred.

From the district court to Civilstyrelsen

Once the deadline has passed, the byretspræsident at Retten i Viborg forwards the applications with a recommendation to the president of Vestre Landsret, who passes them on with his own recommendation to Civilstyrelsen. Before recommending, the byretspræsident obtains the consent of the shortlisted lawyers and then collects statements from Advokatrådet, Civilstyrelsen and the relevant politidirektør, together with information from Kriminalregisteret.

Civilstyrelsen then hears the applicants on the recommendations and the information gathered before deciding the case on the justice minister’s behalf. Applications must be addressed to Civilstyrelsen and sent to Retten i Viborg, preferably by secure mail to ledelse.vib@domstol.dk.

No travel allowance within the district

The appointment carries an obligation to appear personally in the assigned cases. A lawyer appointed at a city court is not entitled to reimbursement of travel expenses for appearances within the court district, pursuant to § 333, stk. 1, 2. pkt., cf. § 741, stk. 1, of retsplejeloven. The Viborg call follows a parallel notice for Retten i Randers, published in Statstidende on 6 November 2026 (S04112026-68), which covers two positions and closes on 4 December 2026.

The Viborg vacancy matters beyond the small circle of applicants: the beneficium determines which lawyers can be assigned to suspects and defendants in the district, and which counsel citizens with free process will meet in court. With nine months or so of notice left before the turn of the year, lawyers with criminal and appellate experience in the Viborg district have until 8 December to put their names forward.

Source: Statstidende, 12 November 2026, section Diverse (Ledige stillinger), official reference: S10112026-258.