Contract with Directorate of Immigration not renewed

The University Council unanimously agreed in their meeting on 6 March not to renew the public work contract between the University of Iceland and the Directorate of Immigration.

The public work contract stipulated a purchase of a service from the University of Iceland's Faculty of Odontology in cases where the age of individuals applying for international protection was in doubt.
When the contract was singed in March 2019 the University of Iceland notified the Minister of Justice that the Joint general comment of the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of the Child of 16 November 2017 might be grounds for reviewing the Foreign Nationals Act, No. 80/2016, including articles on age determination.

The general comment referred to states that age should be determined using a multifaceted evaluation of physical and mental maturity, carried out by paediatricians and other experts on children's development. The same comment asserts that states should avoid using clinical examination of teeth to determine age. The University of Iceland presented these concerns in a written comment on a bill proposing amendments to the Foreign Nationals Act in the autumn of 2019.

The University had expected that these concerns would have been addressed through amendments to rules and procedure by the Directorate of Immigration in the direction of implementing a more varied and nuanced evaluation of the age of applicants, and that using teeth for evaluation should only be resorted to in marginal cases.

This has not happened during the year in which the contract has been valid. Therefore, the University Council decided not to renew the public work contract with the Directorate of Immigration.