Catalogue description Records created or inherited by the Ministry of Justice

Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), 2003-2007

The Department for Constitutional Affairs was created on 12 June 2003 and brought together what had been most of the Lord Chancellor's Department, the UK devolution settlements and, for administrative purposes only, the staff of the Scotland Office and the Wales Office, and it therefore became the government department responsible for justice, rights and democracy.

The DCA's role was to drive forward the reform and improvement of the legal and justice system in England and Wales, to uphold the rule of law, and to reform and safeguard the constitution so that it served the public effectively. Priority issues for the department were to:

• fight crime and anti-social behaviour;
• provide improved support for the victims of crime and for magistrates;
• engender respect for the authority of the courts;
• ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of fraud trials;
• provide a more diverse judiciary and an improved experience for jurors;
• support the rights of the disadvantaged;
• ensure a fairer deal for legal aid;
• reform legal services;
• tackle the 'compensation culture';
• continue the reform of the House of Lords; and
• improve electoral administration.

The DCA also established Her Majesty's Court Service (HCMS) and was responsible for policy on coroners. Also, on 3 April 2006, the largest central government tribunals were incorporated into the DCA as the Tribunals Service. The DCA also established an independent Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). The DCA had responsibility for various other Executive Agencies, in particular HM Courts Service, the Land Registry, The National Archives, and the Public Guardianship Office.

The department also established a new role for the Lord Chancellor, who became the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, and continued to be the government minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary and the courts system, but was no longer the head of the judiciary (this role was taken on by the Lord Chief Justice).

The DCA ended in 2007 when the Ministry of Justice was created.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ), from 2007

Following the introduction of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 on 3 April 2006, the Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007 by merging the Department for Constitutional Affairs with the parts of the Home Office responsible for criminal justice and sentencing policy, probation, prisons and prevention of re-offending in England and Wales. Its creation therefore brought together for the first time responsibility for the justice system, comprising: criminal justice policy; law and constitutional reform; sentencing; the courts, prisons and probation services. The Home Office retained the policy functions relating to: policing; serious organised crime; counter-terrorism strategy; MI5; immigration and nationality; passports; drugs and anti-social behaviour.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 had provided a major shift in the role and responsibilities of the Lord Chancellor (from 2006 the executive) and the Lord Chief Justice (from 2006 the new head of the Judiciary in England and Wales). Under the Act, the Lord Chancellor continued to be the government minister responsible for the judiciary and the courts system but his role as judge and head of the judiciary was discontinued. The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales became the new head of the Judiciary and took over many of the judicial functions formerly undertaken by the Lord Chancellor: e.g. responsibility for all judges, magistrates and (for certain purposes) the tribunal judiciary; role in relation to judicial appointments and judges' wellbeing. The Lord Chancellor's role as a Cabinet Minister continued. He continued to be minister responsible for the judiciary, judicial appointments, the courts and the tribunals. He is also responsible for legal aid and the Legal Services Commission, statute law reform and the Law Commission, public records and the National Archives, the Land Registry and the Northern Ireland Court Service and the Crown Dependencies. The Lord Chancellor continues to make appointments to senior military, civic, church and judicial offices with the Queen's authority.

Judicial independence was a key aim of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, whereby an express duty on the Lord Chancellor, other ministers and all those with responsibility for matters relating to the judiciary was to uphold its continued independence from the government of the day. Under the new law, from 3 April 2006 the Lord Chancellor had to consult or secure the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice before making any decisions about many areas of responsibility that effect or involve the judiciary. Therefore, the creation of the Ministry of Justice in 2007 was directly shaped by the requirements of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

The Ministry works in partnership with the other government departments and agencies to reform the criminal justice system, to serve the public and support the victims of crime; its is also responsible for making new laws, strengthening democracy, modernising the constitution and safeguarding human rights. New agencies created in 2006 include: the Judicial Services Directorate; the Directorate of Judicial Offices for England and Wales; the Judicial Appointments Commission; the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman and the Office for Judicial Complaints.

The Ministry of Justice administers some tribunals in the whole of the UK, and has various other functions, such as human rights and electoral reform, which also covers the whole of the UK. It is headed by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

The Ministry does not have responsibility for criminal justice, courts, prisons or probation in Scotland, only in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In the jurisdiction of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, MoJ is responsible for dealing with all suspected offenders from the time they are arrested, until convicted offenders are released from prison. The Ministry also has certain responsibilities in relation to the Crown dependencies: acting as the main line of communication between Whitehall and the governments of the islands; agreeing royal assent to legislation passed by the insular legislative assemblies; extending UK legislation to the islands; and making Crown appointments within the islands.