| Department of Justice | |
|---|---|
| Department overview | |
| Formed | April 2010 |
| Preceding Department | Northern Ireland Office & Ministry of Justice |
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Headquarters | Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 3SG |
| Employees | 2,493 (September 2011) [1] |
| Annual budget | £1,213.1 million (current) & £78.3 million (capital) for 2011-12 [2] |
| Minister responsible | David Ford |
| Website | |
| www.dojni.gov.uk | |
| Northern Ireland |
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The Department of Justice is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The current Minister of Justice is David Ford, who is a member of the Northern Ireland Executive. The department was established on 12 April 2010 as part of the devolution of justice matters to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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The Minister of Justice is elected by a cross-community vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly, unlike all other Northern Ireland Executive posts, which are allocated by the d'Hondt method; the exception was made to resolve a dispute between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein. [3]
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland successfully nominated its party leader, David Ford, on 12 April 2012.[4] Ford was re-elected to the position on 16 May 2010 [5] and is the incumbent Minister. [6]
The department supports the Minister of Justice in "building a fair, just and safer society". It has four stated objectives: to "work in partnership" to produce a safer society and reduce the risk, and fear, of crime; to ensure that everyone in Northern Ireland has access to justice, without undue delay; to protect the public by reducing offending and managing offenders; and to contribute to the Shared Future strategy (now known as the Cohesion, Sharing and Integration strategy) for Northern Ireland through the operation of the justice system and assist in "enhancing decision-making and strategic resource management". [7]
The Department of Justice's headquarters is located in Castle Buildings in Belfast. Its remit includes the following executive agencies:
The Probation Board for Northern Ireland is responsible to it as a non-departmental public body. The Police Service of Northern Ireland is operationally independent and accountable to the Northern Ireland Policing Board; the Minister of Justice has overall responsibility.
The Department of Justice is responsible for most everyday policing and justice powers in Northern Ireland. These include:[8]
Some policing and justice powers remain reserved to Westminster:[9]
A limited number of justice matters remain excepted and were not considered for devolution. These include:[10]
The Department of Justice’s main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
In the Irish Government, its main counterpart is the Department of Justice and Equality.[14]
| Minister | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office created | ||||
| David Ford | Alliance | 12 April 2010 | ||
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