federal case
A case heard in a federal court system — a category Danish law does not recognise.
A federal case is a lawsuit heard within a federal court system — that is, a system in which judicial authority is divided between a central (federal) state and constituent states or provinces. The term originates primarily from the United States, where federal courts handle cases concerning federal law, the constitution, or parties located in different states.
Under Danish law, the concept of a 'federal case' does not exist as a legal category. Denmark is a unitary state, not a federation, and has a single unified court system with district courts, high courts and the Supreme Court as the highest instance. There is no division between state and federal courts of the kind found in, for example, the United States, Germany or Australia.
When the term appears in a Danish context, it is typically the result of translation from English-language media, true crime material or legal documents originating in a federal system. In such cases it is used to describe the type of case within the legal system of the country concerned — not as a Danish legal term.
If one wishes to describe a corresponding category of case in a Danish context, the correct term depends on the nature of the matter: 'criminal case' (straffesag), 'civil action' (civilt søgsmål) or 'court case' (sag for retten) are the relevant Danish terms.
