District councils are administrative committees that exercise the power of adjudication in certain child protection matters at the municipal level. The district councils are appointed for five years, are independent in their work, stand outside the general administration of municipalities. Council members do not take instructions on handling individual cases.

The district councils shall be composed of three councillors who have certain professional knowledge, i.e. social workers, psychologists and lawyers, and have at least three years of experience in child protection.

Coercive measures, in situations that have not been worked on in cooperation, are an example of cases that go before district councils according to law nr. 80/2002 (link in Icelandic) – for example, if it is necessary to

• remove a child from a home

• decide on the visitation of a child in foster care with parents

• take legal action

See more in Article 13 of the Child Protection Act, which discusses the role of district councils.

• Read more about the roles and organizational structure of child services