The County Social Welfare Boards are a judiciary administrative body which follows the same principles as the courts of law.

Private parties to the case1

Usually parents with parental

responsibility, parents without parental

responsibility entitled to visit their child,

children over 15 years.

Private parties have the opportunity to

give their explanations and provide

evidence before the board.

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73 Legal counsel

Official party to the case

Board members

Legal counsel

Private parties to the case

Witnesses

Legal counsel

Represents an official or private party.

Usually an attorney.

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Board Members

The board is comprised of persons with different competences.

The board usually has three members, a Board Chair, Expert Member and Ordinary

member/Lay person. In certain cases, the board chair may decide that the board

should be composed of two ordinary members and two expert members, in

addition to the board chair.

Decisions are made by simple majority of votes.

Official party to the case2

The official body who proposes

that a decision for compulsory

measures be taken.

Usually, the municipality is

represented for instance, by a

case worker with the Child Welfare

Service.

Gives evidence to the board.

Board Chair4

Leads the process.

Has the same competence as a judge.

Will contribute with his/her life

experience and common sense

when evaluating if the legal

requirements to adopt a

compulsory measure are

present.

They are also lay judges for the

District Courts (In Norwegian –

tingrettene) and the Court of

Appeals (In Norwegian -

lagmannsrettene).

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Expert Member

Person with special professional

competence in the field.

In most cases, it is a psychologist,

psychiatrist, social worker, child

welfare worker, or specialized child

welfare officer.

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Ordinary member/Lay person

Specialist or expert in charge of a report

An expert who is appointed to perform an assessment on a child’s need for care and

the parent’s ability to provide care.

The expert will often be a psychologist or psychiatrist, and is given a mandate by the

municipality, the private party or by the board, which describes the circumstances

about the child and the parents to be assessed.

The specialist/expert interviews the private and the official parties, and is entitled to

collect other relevant information. The expert writes a report wherein he / she gives

his findings, which is sent to the board and the parties’ counsels.

The report from the expert can only be used as evidence if it has been reviewed by

Barnesakkyndig kommisjon – the Child Welfare Expert Committee.

The expert is present at the meeting and gives evidence. The report forms part of the

decision-making fundaments.

Witnesses7

Persons who give evidence to the

board, but are not a part of the

case.

Persons who have seen, heard or

experienced something which has a

bearing on the case.

Spokesperson

The board may appoint a spokesperson for children who are older than 7 years, as

well as for younger children if they are able to formulate their own opinions in the

case. Children over 15 years are entitled to have their own legal counsel (therefore

a spokesperson is not appointed for them).

Children have the right to be heard in cases that concerns them. The child’s

opinion shall be taken into consideration according to the child’s age and level of

maturity.

The spokesperson is subjected to the duty of confidentiality about what appears

in the case. After having talked with the children in the case, the spokesperson

writes a report which is sent to the board.

The spokesperson is also present at the meeting and gives evidence about what

the child has expressed.

Spokespersons are people who are qualified to talk with children, and can be, for

example kindergarten employees, teachers, child and youth workers, school

nurses or social workers.

Interpreter

If one of the private parties or a witness does not speak Norwegian, the

municipality will provide an interpreter (paid for by the state) to be present at the

meeting in order to translate what is being said.

The interpreters are subject to the duty of confidentiality and shall translate only

what is being said at the court hearing. They shall not express their own

meanings.