| Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid | |
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 Current head office | |
| Department overview | |
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| Formed | March 12, 1798; 227 years ago (1798-03-12) |
| Jurisdiction | Kingdom of the Netherlands |
| Headquarters | Schedeldoekshaven 100,The Hague,Netherlands |
| Employees | 30,000 |
| Annual budget | €11.1 billion (2018)[1] |
| Minister responsible |
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| Deputy Ministers responsible |
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| Website | Ministry of Justice and Security |
TheMinistry of Justice and Security (Dutch:Ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid; JenV) is theDutch ministry responsible for justice, imprisonment andpublic security. The ministry was created in 1798 as theDepartment of Justice, before it became in 1876 theMinistry of Justice. In 2010, it took over the public safety duties from theMinistry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and becameMinistry of Security and Justice. In 2017 the ministry was renamed toMinistry of Justice and Security.
On 1 March 2020, future prime minister of the NetherlandsDick Schoof became secretary-general of the Ministry of Justice and Security, the most senior non-political position within the ministry.[2][3][4][5] In his role, he was involved in negotiations on asylum reform. Upon reaching the legal retirement age in March 2024, Schoof chose not to retire and was granted an exemption to continue working for three more years; however, that year he became prime minister.[6]
The ministry is headed by the Minister of Justice and Security,Foort van Oosten (VVD) since 5 September 2025.
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The ministry has the legal tasks of:
It is also responsible for the coordination of counter-terrorism policy. The ministry oversaw migration policy until the separateMinistry of Asylum and Migration was established in July 2024.[7]
Because it shares many responsibilities and has twin buildings (both old and new) with theMinistry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, they are sometimes called the twin ministries.
The ministry is headed by MinisterFoort van Oosten, who is supported by State SecretariesIngrid Coenradie (Justice and Security) andArno Rutte (Legal Protection). It employs almost 30,000 civil servants, located at the ministry in the Hague and all around the Netherlands. The ministry's main office is located in the centre ofthe Hague in the same building as the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The civil service is headed by a secretary-general and a deputy secretary-general, who head a system of three directorates-general:
The Board of Procurators General (Dutch:Raad van Procureurs-Generaal) which heads the PublicProsecution Service (in Dutch:Openbaar Ministerie, OM) is a relatively independent organisation which forms part of theJudiciary and prosecutes persons suspected of breaking the law.
TheNetherlands Forensic Institute is an autonomous division of the Ministry of Justice, falling under the Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice and Law Enforcement. TheCustodial Institutions Agency is an agency of the ministry.
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