Society requires structure, law and order in order to flourish. Wizarding society is no different. In the wizarding world there exist many bodies for the maintenance and governance of wizarding communities in their respective countries.

These bodies enforce the magical law in the communities which they govern, with the overarching goal of keeping the Statute of Secrecy. It is their responsibility to care for the witches and wizards within their jurisdiction. For Example, the British Ministry of Magic is responsible for both British and Irish magical communities.

There are, however, countries that do not have a wizarding governing body - either because their wizarding communities are too small to merit one, or due to social unrest in the Muggle communities in which they reside, or for a plethora of other reasons - and this puts their wizarding community - and the enforcement of binding inernational statues - in jeopardy.

In such cases, the ICW maintains a chapter comprised of representatives from its administration as well as the local wizarding community, which acts as a de-facto government in the absence of a proper ministry, department or council. With time, these chapters may evolve into organized governments, as has happened over the past century in countries like Montenegro (1926), Israel (1958), Iran (1973) and Mongolia (2001).