.svg){kind=logo} | |
 102 Petty France,Westminster | |
| Ministerial Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2007 |
| Preceding Ministerial Department | |
| Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
| Headquarters | 102 Petty France Westminster,London |
| Employees | More than 77,000 |
| Annual budget | £6.3 billion & £600 million capital expenditure in 2018–19[1] |
| Secretary of State responsible | |
| Ministerial Department executive |
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| Child agencies | |
| Website | gov |
| This article is part of the series:Courts of England and Wales |
| Law of England and Wales |
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Criminal prosecution |
TheMinistry of Justice (MoJ) is aministerial department of theGovernment of the United Kingdom. It is headed by theSecretary of State for Justice, an office held concurrently by theLord Chancellor. Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and to uphold people's civil liberties.[2] The Secretary of State is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system, prisons, and probation inEngland and Wales, with some additional UK-wide responsibilities, e.g., the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments by the Crown. The department is also responsible for areas of constitutional policy not transferred in 2010 to theDeputy Prime Minister, human rights law, and information rights law across the UK.
The British Ministry of Justice may also oversee the administration of justice inJersey,Guernsey, and theIsle of Man (which areCrown Dependencies), as well asSaint Helena, Ascension,Tristan da Cunha, and theFalkland Islands (which areBritish Overseas Territories).[3][4][5]Gibraltar, anotherBritish overseas territory, has its own Ministry of Justice.[6]
The ministry was formed in May 2007 when some functions of theHome Secretary were combined with theDepartment for Constitutional Affairs.[7] The latter had replaced theLord Chancellor's Department in 2003.
The expenditure, administration, and policy of the Ministry of Justice are scrutinised by theJustice Select Committee.[8]
Prior to the formation of theCoalition Government in May 2010,[9][10] the ministry handled relations between the British Government and the three devolved administrations: theNorthern Ireland Executive; theScottish Government; and theWelsh Government.
Responsibility for devolution was then transferred to the re-established position ofDeputy Prime Minister, based in theCabinet Office. He also assumed responsibility for political and constitutional reform, including reform of theHouse of Lords, theWest Lothian Question, electoral policy, political party funding reform and royal succession.
After 2015, responsibility for devolution was transferred back to the ministry as well as the three offices for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland until 2019 when it was transferred to theMinister for the Union in thePrime Minister's Office. Reform of the House of Lords was given to theLeader of the House of Lords and theCabinet Office. The West Lothian Question was given to theLeader of the House of Commons as was electoral policy and political party funding reform which is now handled by the Speakers Committee on Electoral Reform and the House Leader. Royal succession was given back to the ministry.
The Secretary of State for Justice had responsibility for a commission on a British bill of rights. The British bill of rights was a plan to implement human rights through national law, instead of theEuropean Convention on Human Rights being part of UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. This would have also ended the binding authority theEuropean Court of Human Rights has over British courts.[11] This was later shelved, but recently, this has gained support since the UK left the European Union.[citation needed]
The Ministry of Justice retained the following UK-wide remit:
As the office of theLord High Chancellor of Great Britain, the ministry is also responsible for policy relating toLord Lieutenants (i.e. the personal representatives of the King), "non-delegated" royal, church and hereditary issues, and other constitutional issues, although the exact definition of these is unclear.[12]
The post ofLord Chancellor of Ireland was abolished in 1922 thoughNorthern Ireland remains part of the UK. The authority of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland was transferred to theSecretary of State for Northern Ireland.[13]
The vast majority of the Ministry of Justice's work takes place inEngland and Wales. The ministry has no responsibility for devolvedcriminal justice policy, courts, prisons or probation matters in eitherScotland orNorthern Ireland.
Within the jurisdiction of England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for ensuring that all suspected offenders (including children and young people) are appropriately dealt with from the time they are arrested, until convicted offenders have completed their sentence.[14] The ministry is therefore responsible for all aspects of the criminal law, including the scope and content of criminal offences. Its responsibilities extend to the commissioning of prison services (through theNational Offender Management Service), rehabilitation and reducing offending, victim support, the probation service and the out-of-court system, theYouth Justice Board, sentencing and parole policy, criminal injuries compensation and theCriminal Cases Review Commission. TheAttorney General for England and Wales (also the Advocate General for Northern Ireland) works with the Ministry of Justice to develop criminal justice policy.[15]
Other responsibilities limited to England and Wales include the administration of all courts and tribunals, land registration, legal aid and the regulation of legal services, coroners and the investigation of deaths, administrative justice and public law, the maintenance of the judiciary, public guardianship and mental incapacity, supervision of restricted patients detained under theMental Health Act 1983 and civil law and justice, including the family justice system and claims management regulation.
The Ministry of Justice is the department that facilitates communication between theCrown dependencies i.e.Jersey,Guernsey and theIsle of Man, and HM Government. These are self-governing possessions of theBritish monarch, through his titles asDuke of Normandy in the Channel Islands andLord of Mann in the Isle of Man.
It processes legislation forRoyal Assent passed by the insular legislative assemblies and consults the Islands on extending UK legislation to them. It also ensures that relevant UK legislation is extended to the islands smoothly.[16]
The Ministers in the Ministry of Justice are as follows, with cabinet ministers in bold:[17]
| Minister | Portrait | Office | Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Lammy | .jpg) | Lord Chancellor andSecretary of State for Justice |
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| James Timpson, Baron Timpson |  | Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending |
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| Sarah Sackman |  | Minister of State |
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| Alex Davies-Jones |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
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| Alison Levitt, Baroness Levitt |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
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| Jake Richards |  | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
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Thepermanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice is Jo Farrar, who is by virtue of her office alsoClerk of the Crown in Chancery.
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