The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, commonly referred to as the Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for law and order in Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the

Minister for Community Safety The Minister for Community Safety is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet. The post was created in May 1999 during the 1st Scottish Parliament as the ''Deputy Minist ...

. The current Cabinet Secretary for Justice is Keith Brown, who was appointed in May 2021.

History

The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Justice, with the advent of devolution and the institution of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

, taking over some of the roles and functions of the former Scottish Office Minister of State for Home Affairs that existed prior to 1999. As with the UK Secretary of State for Justice, but unlike some other justice ministers, the Cabinet Secretary does not have any oversight of prosecutions - in Scotland these are handled by the Lord Advocate.

Overview

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice include: *Policing *Fire and rescue services *Courts & sentencing *The justice system and criminal law procedure *Violence reduction *Prison reform and prisoner policy *Reducing reoffending *Security *Youth justice *Access to justice *Civil law *Victim/witness support *Criminal injuries compensation *Legal aid fund * Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service *Bairn's Hoose *Justice reform *National Community Justice Strategy *Veterans

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice: * Disclosure Scotland * Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland *

Judicial Complaints Reviewer The Judicial Complaints Reviewer is a Scottish official who is responsible for reviewing the handling of complaints against the judiciary of Scotland by the Judicial Office for Scotland. The post was established in 2011 as a result of the Judicia ...

* Parole Board for Scotland * Police Investigations and Review Commissioner * Risk Management Authority * Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service * Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission * Scottish Fire and Rescue Service * Scottish Law Commission *

Scottish Legal Aid Board The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, responsible for managing legal aid. It was established in April 1987, under the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, taking over functions ...

* Scottish Legal Complaints Commission * Scottish Police Authority * Scottish Prison Service

Salary

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice is paid a total salary of , which is made up of for being a MSP, and an additional allowance of for the responsibility of being a Cabinet Secretary.

List of office holders

References

{{authority control Justice Scots law formal titles