Sýslumaður also sýslumenn is an authority whose origin dates back to the ancient Scandinavian jurisdiction for a county (sýsla) created around the 12th century by royal authority for the collection of county fees (taxes, duties and penalties), prosecuting crimes , appoint men to the local courts of justice, and the exercise of the king's executive power.The equivalent is sheriff or sheriff and were in some societies the germ of the police, with the right to sit in the noble court as administrative governors, representatives of the executive power and the judicial power of the province. With the amendments to the law at the end of the 20th century, functions were redefined as an additional role for magistrates to enforce laws, and officials to issue passports, licenses and permits in the field.
In Iceland the county structure (sýsla) was established after the dissolution of the Icelandic Commonwealth and the unification of the island with the Norwegian crown after the signature of gamli sattmáli in 1264. The sýslumenn had at their disposal a catch soldiers, but the Danish crown abolished that right around 1550 to avoid possible rebellions in Iceland.
The counties and sýslumenn are still valid in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, in the other Nordic countries disappeared to form provinces and domains. Iceland currently has 26 magistrates in charge of taxes, administer bankruptcy declarations and celebrate civil marriages. After the legal restructuring of 2007, half of them are also responsible for the state security forces.
In the Anglo-Saxon-speaking countries it evolved as an office of the police district commissioner (county commissioner).
wiki
