Criteria for being appointed an expert tribunal member

The role of an expert members is to contribute a specialist perspective to the tribunal's consideration of cases. Good expert assessment requires extensive theoretical and experiential knowledge.

Applicants must possess the personal suitability to serve as an expert, be resident in Norway and have adequate Norwegian language skills.

The appointment lasts until the expert reaches 72 years of age.

The applicant must fulfil the good conduct requirements set out in Section 72 of the Courts of Justice Act.

Experts who hold an authorisation under the Health Personnel Act must notify the Central Office in the event that their authorisation is suspended or revoked. In the event of suspension or revocation of authorisation, the person concerned will no longer be able to serve as an expert member.

2.1 General information

Persons appointed to the committee of experts for cases pursuant to the Child Welfare Act (from now on referred to as the committee for child welfare cases) must have acquired qualifications through education and work experience and be capable of assessing:

• The parents’/caregivers’ competence as caregivers
• The child's attachment and care history
• The child's needs based on specialist knowledge about children, including the child's attachment and care history
• Relationship and interaction between the parents/caregivers and the child
• What different care situations mean for the child's development
• Compensatory factors and risk factors in the rest of the child's network
• Assistance measures

As a rule, the applicant should have worked in a principal position with children, young people and families, preferably in a full-time position. As a rule, the work experience must have been gained after the applicant completed his or her education, and preferably during the past three or four years.

Applicants with older relevant work experience may be considered if the applicant can document that the knowledge and skills have been maintained in other ways, for example through research or teaching work at universities, university colleges or similar.

Work as an expert member of a County Social Welfare Board or as an expert lay assessor in a district court will not be deemed to constitute experience of working with children.

2.2. Relevant education and work experience

In order to be appointed to the expert committee for child welfare cases, applicants must have the following education and work experience:

Psychologists

At least four years’ experience of working directly with children, young people and families, or the Norwegian Psychological Association's two-year programme of education for child welfare experts.

Medical practitioners

Three-year continuing education programme in child and adolescent psychiatry or the Norwegian Psychological Association’s two-year programme of education for child welfare experts, or a specialist in paediatrics. 

Child welfare officers and social workers

Relevant second degree (master’s degree or equivalent) and at least four years’ experience of working directly with children, young people and families. As a rule, at least two years of the work experience must have been gained after the applicant completed his or her second degree.

Other relevant education can also be taken into account if the applicant can document expertise in the form of education at second degree level (master's degree or equivalent) and at least four years’ relevant experience of working directly with children, young people and families.

2.3. Impartiality and employment relationship

Applicants are not eligible for appointment to the committee for child welfare cases if they are employed by:

• the municipal child welfare service
• a municipality and process cases pursuant to the Social Services Act and the Health and Care Services Act 
• a municipal child welfare emergency unit
• the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir)
• the Office for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufetat), except for applicants employed at the family counselling offices
• the City of Oslo and perform the same duties as Bufetat employees, cf. the Child Welfare Act Section 16-6
• public or private child welfare institutions or other institutions where children and young people are placed pursuant to the Child Welfare Act
• the office of a county governor
• the Ministry of Children and Families

  As a rule, applicants will not be appointed if:

• they are hired to carry out ordinary case processing for the municipal child welfare service
• they are employed by or hold office in a special interest organisation related to the child welfare field

Persons who are hired as external experts by municipal child welfare services to prepare expert statements or reports in concrete cases, are eligible for appointment. When an expert is appointed to consider a specific case, Sections 106–108 of the Courts of Justice Act shall apply correspondingly.

3.1 Relevant education and work experience

The applicant must be a qualified:

• psychologist
• psychiatrist / specialist in general practice
• nurse / midwife

Applicants with a second degree education (master's degree or programme of professional study with a scope of at least five years) need at least three years’ experience of clinical work with substance abusers and/or pregnant substance abusers.

By clinical work experience we mean work experience from first-line services in the public sector and/or a clinical position in interdisciplinary specialist treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse or rehabilitation care for patients with drug and/or alcohol addiction. Clinical work experience from mental health care measures that also treat patients with substance abuse problems may also be considered relevant experience.

The relevant work experience should not be more than five years ago. Applicants with older relevant work experience may be considered if the applicant can document that the knowledge and skills have been maintained in other ways, for example through research or teaching work at universities, university colleges or similar.

Work as an expert tribunal member or as an expert lay assessor in a district court is not deemed to constitute relevant work experience.

3.2. Impartiality and employment relationship

Sections 106–108 of the Courts of Justice Act shall apply correspondingly.

4.1. Relevant utdanning

The applicant must be a qualified:

• psychiatrist / specialist in general practice
• psychologist
• special needs teacher
• or have a university college education in health and social work with at least one year of formal continuing education in health or social work

Other relevant education may also be taken into account.

Applicants with a second degree education (master's degree or equivalent) need at least four years’ experience, with the majority of this time spent working directly with people with mental disabilities with different levels of functioning and with severe behavioural problems. The applicant must have worked with providing systematic guidance to service providers that work with people with mental disabilities and severe behavioural disorders. Experience from work with other groups of diagnoses is also taken into account.

Applicants without a master's degree must have 6 years of work experience as described above

4.2 Impartiality and employment relationship

Sections 106–108 of the Courts of Justice Act shall apply correspondingly.

The Central Office is responsible for the appointment and re-appointment of experts.

The general manager of each tribunal is responsible for:

• ensuring that there is a sufficient number of experts on the tribunal's committee of experts
• training and opportunities for experts to update their professional knowledge of material and procedural rules as a prerequisite for performing their duties on the committee of experts

The Central Office assesses applicants on the basis of their application and attached documentation. By documentation is meant certified copies of certificates and diplomas and copies of references documenting adequate relevant work experience from clinical work.

Before an expert is appointed or re-appointed, a statement is obtained from the general manager of the tribunal in question. External reference persons may also be contacted.

If the tribunal is in doubt as to whether an appointed expert member possesses the personal suitability and/or professional qualifications to hold office as an expert, the tribunal's general manager must raise the issue with the person concerned.

In the event that it proves impossible to rectify the issues raised with the expert member, the general manager must ask the Central Office for the Child Welfare Tribunal to consider whether the expert in question is fit to hold office. Notification of such matters can be given during the four-year term of appointment or in connection with re-appointment. The general manager must provide written grounds to the Central Office explaining why the expert in question is no longer considered suited to be a member of the committee.

Based on the request from the tribunal, the Central Office for the Child Welfare Tribunal will carry out a concrete assessment of the appointed expert's suitability. The Central Office will consider whether the expert should be suspended from the committee while the matter is being considered.

If the Central Office finds that the expert should not continue to serve, the person concerned will receive a written decision stating the grounds for the decision. The decision is final and cannot be appealed. However, the Central Office may reconsider its decision if new information comes to light.