Norwegian Sorenskriveri
The Sorenskriver is the magistrate who is leader of the sorenskriveri or tingrett (court) in rural areas. Earlier he had a number of other functions in addition to being a judge. Among others he had responsibility for tinglysingen (documents read and recorded by the court, usually in conjunction with property). The office of sorenskriver existed only in the country districts. In the cities the judges were presiding magistrates with no additional administrative duties.
The sorenskriver position has a long historical tradition in Norway. In 1591 the regulation for a sorenskriver was introduced in the rural courts. Originally the sorenskriver was not a judge but was one who functioned as an assistant and a secretary. Beginning in 1634 the sorenskriver became a judge. The law of 1687 made it so that the sorenskriver became the only judge in most court cases.
References
Imsen, Steinar and Winge Harald. Norsk Historisk Leksikon - Kultur og samfunn ca. 1500 – ca. 1800, pages 408-410, 2nd ed. (Oslo, Cappelen Akedemisk forlag, 2004). Accessed 19 November 2012.
Wikipedia. ”Sorenskriver.” Sorenskriver. Accessed 19 November 2012.