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Secretary of State for Justice
Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The secretary of state for justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed Lord Chancellor.
The officeholder works alongside the other justice ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for justice, and the performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.[3]
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Responsibilities
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Corresponding to what is generally known as a justice minister in many other countries, the justice secretary's remit encompasses justice policy for the whole United Kingdom along with matters of justice specific to England and Wales.
The justice secretary is responsible throughout the UK for:
- Human rights and civil liberties;
- Miscarriages of justice (via the Criminal Cases Review Commission); and
- The UK’s relations with the governments of the three Crown Dependencies - Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.
In relation to England and Wales, the justice secretary's portfolio concerns the following matters:
- The delivery of criminal justice generally, including criminal law, criminal procedure, sentencing, probation and parole, criminal injury compensation, and victim's rights;
- All matters falling under civil justice, including but not limited to civil procedure, administrative law, bankruptcy and insolvency law, commercial law, contract law, family law, probate, and tort; and
- Administration of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service, the Parole Board, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, the Victims' Commissioner, and the Youth Justice Board.
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Creation
The then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice when it was created in 2007. The office of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, along with the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Home Secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future secretaries of state for justice would be MPs rather than peers.
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List of secretaries of state
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See also
Notes
- First non-peer to serve as Lord Chancellor since Sir Robert Henley as Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1760.
References
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