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The Courts

Expert co-judges

Expert co-judges

One of the roles of the Judicial Administration is to appoint a reasonable number of expert co-judges. These are individuals who have expertise in fields other than law.

The purpose of summoning an expert co-judge is to increase the likelihood of the court reaching the right conclusion, improve the quality of judicial decisions and increase trust in the work of the courts.

Reviewing expert evidence

The role of the expert co-judges includes reviewing and criticising expert evidence in cases where the regular judges are unable to do so due to lack of expertise in the relevant field. The expert co-judges are called upon when:

  • Special skills are needed to resolve a case

  • The case is extensive

  • The charges are very important from a general point of view

Which expert evidence is considered depends entirely on the nature and scope of the case in question. It is therefore not possible to determine which expert evidence the relevant expert co-judge will evaluate or by what means, until he/she has been summoned to attend a particular case.

Becoming an expert co-judge

The general competence requirements are:

  • Sufficient knowledge and experience to be able to perform the duties of an expert co-judge in judicial matters in the relevant field of expertise.

  • Sufficient maturity and mental and physical health

  • Icelandic citizenship, being legally competent and having reached the age of 25

  • Custody of one’s own estate

  • Neither to have been sentenced to prison for a criminal offence committed after the person reached the age of 18, nor to have acted in a manner that could damage the trust that judges must generally enjoy

Rules

The appointment shall be automatically cancelled if the nominee loses his/her general competence. Furthermore, the Judicial Administration may cancel the appointment if there are substantial reasons to do so or the nominee so requests.

The ones appointed as expert co-judges shall sign a solemn declaration stating that they will always perform such duties with conscientiousness and impartiality and in strict compliance with the law.

An employee of the courts may not be appointed to be an expert co-judge.

Five-year periods

Expert co-judges are appointed for five years at a time. After five years, the person concerned may request a renewal of the appointment.

Application

Expert co-judges are appointed from among applicants following a public call for candidates. All those who meet the requirements are free to apply. There is no deadline for applications.

Applications for appointment shall be sent electronically through the courts’ website. Instructions on how to apply through the website can be found here. The application must be accompanied by:

  • A curriculum vitae

  • Confirmation of the highest level of education in the relevant specialty

  • Authorisation for the Judicial Administration to collect a criminal record certificate. The Judicial Administration must be authorized to collect a criminal record certificate by filling out a form and sending it with the application

    . Get the form

    .

Web portal of the courts

Apply

The Judicial Administration will keep all applications and appoint expert co-judges from among applicants as needed at any given time.

Appointed expert co-judges

Applicants who are nominated will be included in a list that is available to the staff of the courts. The list of expert co-judges is published on the website of the Judicial Administration and is regularly updated.

  • List of nominated expert co-judges. Updated 2 May 2024.

The listed expert co-judges deemed most fitting for each case at any given time will be summoned. Although a person has been nominated as an expert co-judge, this does not guarantee whether or how often that person can expect to be summoned.

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