Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
Encyclopedia
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public. His department is also responsible for some areas of constitutional policy (those which were not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister
). Priorities for the department are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and uphold people’s civil liberties. The Secretary of State is the government minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system and prisons and probation.
The ministry was formed when some functions of the Home Secretary
were combined with the Department for Constitutional Affairs
. The latter replaced the Lord Chancellor's Department
in 2003.
, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government
) and the UK government. It has responsibiltiy for securing the administration of some tribunal
s in the whole of the UK, such as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
. It is also responsible for civil liberties, freedom of information, data sharing and protection, law reform, and burial policy across the UK. The head of the department is both Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, and some functions, such as national security criminal justice issues and EU and international justice policy, come from the former role, but certain Royal, Church, peerage, and election functions arise from the minister's role as Lord Chancellor.
policy, courts, prisons or probation matters in either Scotland
or Northern Ireland
, only in England and Wales
. In the jurisdiction of England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for dealing with all suspected offenders from the time they are arrested, until convicted offenders are released from prison.
Other responsibilities limited to England and Wales include court administration, land registration, records management, legal aid and legal services, administrative justice, devolved tribunals, the judiciary of England and Wales, public guardianship and incapacity, restricted offenders detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
, civil law and justice, the family justice system, the investigation of deaths and coroners law.
in relation to the British Overseas Territories), agreeing royal assent
to legislation passed by the insular legislative assemblies, extending UK legislation to the islands, and making Crown
appointments within the islands.
Lord McNally is also Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
.
Nick Herbert
works between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
The Permanent Secretary
at the Ministry of Justice is Sir Suma Chakrabarti
KCB, who is by virtue of his office working to the Lord Chancellor
also Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
.
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public. His department is also responsible for some areas of constitutional policy (those which were not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister, who may appoint to other offices...
). Priorities for the department are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and uphold people’s civil liberties. The Secretary of State is the government minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system and prisons and probation.
The ministry was formed when some functions of the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
were combined with the Department for Constitutional Affairs
Department for Constitutional Affairs
The Department for Constitutional Affairs was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003 with the intention of replacing the Lord Chancellor's Department...
. The latter replaced the Lord Chancellor's Department
Lord Chancellor's Department
The Lord Chancellor's Department was a United Kingdom government department answerable to the Lord Chancellor with jurisdiction over England and Wales....
in 2003.
UK-wide
The ministry handles relations between the three devolved administrations (the Northern Ireland ExecutiveNorthern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government
Welsh Assembly Government
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...
) and the UK government. It has responsibiltiy for securing the administration of some tribunal
Tribunal
A tribunal in the general sense is any person or institution with the authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title....
s in the whole of the UK, such as the Special Immigration Appeals Commission
Special Immigration Appeals Commission
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission is a superior court of record in the United Kingdom established by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 that deals with appeals from persons deported by the Home Secretary under various statutory powers, and usually related to matters of...
. It is also responsible for civil liberties, freedom of information, data sharing and protection, law reform, and burial policy across the UK. The head of the department is both Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, and some functions, such as national security criminal justice issues and EU and international justice policy, come from the former role, but certain Royal, Church, peerage, and election functions arise from the minister's role as Lord Chancellor.
England and Wales only
The Ministry does not have responsibility for devolved criminal justiceCriminal justice
Criminal Justice is the system of practices and institutions of governments directed at upholding social control, deterring and mitigating crime, or sanctioning those who violate laws with criminal penalties and rehabilitation efforts...
policy, courts, prisons or probation matters in either Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
or Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, only in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
. In the jurisdiction of England and Wales, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for dealing with all suspected offenders from the time they are arrested, until convicted offenders are released from prison.
Other responsibilities limited to England and Wales include court administration, land registration, records management, legal aid and legal services, administrative justice, devolved tribunals, the judiciary of England and Wales, public guardianship and incapacity, restricted offenders detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
Mental Health Act 1983
The Mental Health Act 1983 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which applies to people in England and Wales. It covers the reception, care and treatment of mentally disordered persons, the management of their property and other related matters...
, civil law and justice, the family justice system, the investigation of deaths and coroners law.
UK Crown dependencies
The Ministry of Justice has certain responsibilities in relation to the Crown dependencies. These include acting as the main line of communication between Whitehall and the governments of the islands (similar to the role of the Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
in relation to the British Overseas Territories), agreeing royal assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to legislation passed by the insular legislative assemblies, extending UK legislation to the islands, and making Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
appointments within the islands.
Ministers
The Ministers in the Ministry of Justice are as follows:| Minister | Rank | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of... QC MP |
Secretary of State Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain |
Overall responsibility, criminal justice & penal policy strategy, EU & international matters | |
| The Rt Hon Lord McNally | Minister of State | Civil liberties, Freedom of Information, data protection, Crown Dependencies, HM Land Registry HM Land Registry Land Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales... , National Archives, Law Commission Law Commission (England and Wales) In England and Wales the Law Commission is an independent body set up by Parliament by the Law Commissions Act 1965 in 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reforms. The organisation is headed by a Chairman and four Law Commissioners... |
|
| The Rt Hon Nick Herbert Nick Herbert Nicholas Le Quesne "Nick" Herbert is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs... MP |
Minister of State | Criminal justice strategy | |
| Crispin Blunt Crispin Blunt Crispin Jeremy Rupert Blunt is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for the Reigate constituency in Surrey, and since May 2010 he has been the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prisons and Youth Justice within the Ministry of Justice.He first entered... MP |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Prisons, probation, youth justice | |
| Jonathan Djanogly Jonathan Djanogly Jonathan Simon Djanogly is a British politician, former practicing solicitor and Conservative Member of Parliament for Huntingdon... MP |
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State | Legal aid, HM Courts Service, civil law, family law, coroners and burials |
| Key | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|---|---|
| Liberal Democrat Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
Lord McNally is also Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Leader of the House of Lords
The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council,...
.
Nick Herbert
Nick Herbert
Nicholas Le Quesne "Nick" Herbert is a British Conservative Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Arundel and South Downs...
works between the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
The Permanent Secretary
Permanent Secretary
The Permanent secretary, in most departments officially titled the permanent under-secretary of state , is the most senior civil servant of a British Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis...
at the Ministry of Justice is Sir Suma Chakrabarti
Suma Chakrabarti
Sir Suma Chakrabarti, KCB is Permanent Secretary at the UK's Ministry of Justice. He holds office as Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, and, as such, is responsible for the running of the Crown Office, under the directions of the Lord Chancellor.He was appointed on 15 November 2007...
KCB, who is by virtue of his office working to the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
also Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
Clerk of the Crown in Chancery
In the Government of the United Kingdom, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office. The Crown Office, a section of the Ministry of Justice, has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with...
.
Priorities
The Ministry outlined its aims for the next Parliament in the Structural Reform Plan, which said the department will:-
- 1. Introduce a rehabilitation revolution
-
- Create a system introducing greater involvement of the private and voluntary sectors in the rehabilitation of offenders, including use of payment by results, to cut reoffending
-
- 2. Reform sentencing and penalties
-
- Ensure that the justice system reduces reoffending by introducing more effective sentencing policies and considering the use of restorative justice for adult and youth crimes
-
- 3. Reform courts, tribunals and legal aid, and work with others to reform delivery of criminal justice
-
- Reform the legal aid system to make it work more efficiently, while ensuring that we provide necessary support for those who need it most and for those cases that require it.
- Develop court reforms to improve the resolution of disputes, maximise efficiency and improve services and work with others to make delivery of criminal justice more effective and efficient
-
- 4. Assure better law
-
- Assure that law-making is transparent and accountable, safeguarding civil liberties and enabling citizens to receive the proper protection of the law
-
- 5. Reform how we deliver our services
-
- Reform the way the Ministry of Justice works. Reassess our ways of working to develop more efficient shared services, match our provision ever more closely to demand, reduce duplication and streamline our functions wherever possible.
-
- 1. Introduce a rehabilitation revolution
External links
- Ministry of Justice official website
- Ministry of Justice organogram
- 10 Downing Street transparancy data on Ministry of Justice business plan
- Directgov Crime and justice (Directgov, England and Wales)