The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services is the

justice minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the

government of South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority ...

. He is the political head of the

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the justice department of the South African government. The department provides administrative and financial support to the court system and the judiciary (which are constitutionally indep ...

(DoJCD), the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), and the Office of the Chief Justice. DoJCD is responsible for administrative support to the courts, oversight of the National Prosecuting Authority, the provision of legal services to departments of state, and law reform; and DSC is responsible for prisons and community corrections programmes. , the incumbent is

Ronald Lamola Ronald Ozzy Lamola (born 21 November 1983) is a South African lawyer and politician, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, and a member of the African National Congress (ANC). He has also been serving as a Member of the National Assemb ...

, who was appointed to the position by President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

in June 2019. His deputies are John Jeffery, who is responsible for the Justice portfolio, and Inkosi Patekile Holomisa, who is responsible for Correctional Services.

History of the portfolio

Correctional services was a part of the Justice portfolio until 1990, when extensive prison reforms were announced and a separate department and ministerial portfolio were established. The Justice portfolio became Justice and Constitutional Development in 1999, at the beginning of the second Mbeki cabinet, when constitutional matters were detached from the Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development – which had itself previously been the Ministry of Constitutional Development, until a reorganisation under the Mandela cabinet of 1994 to 1999. In July 2014, at the beginning of the second Zuma cabinet, the portfolios were merged again, creating the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services. However, the Department of Correctional Services remains distinct from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development; although they share a political head or executive authority, they are operationally and legislatively distinct. They report to the same parliamentary body, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, but separately. Three prime ministers have been Minister of Justice, including two –

Jan Smuts Field Marshal Jan Christian Smuts, (24 May 1870 11 September 1950) was a South African statesman, military leader and philosopher. In addition to holding various military and cabinet posts, he served as prime minister of the Union of South Af ...

and B. J. Vorster – who held the position directly before being elected prime minister. In 2004, Brigitte Mabandla became the first woman to be appointed to the portfolio.

List of Ministers

Ministry of Justice (1910–1999)

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development (1999–2014)

Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services (2014–present)

Institutions overseen by the Ministry

The following institutions are housed in the Justice and Correctional Services portfolio, although most have a significant degree of operational and statutory independence: *

* Department of Correctional Services * Office of the Chief Justice * Public Protector * National Prosecuting Authority * Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services * Legal Aid South Africa *

South African Human Rights Commission The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) was inaugurated in October 1995 as an independent chapter nine institution. It draws its mandate from the South African Constitution by way of the Human Rights Commission Act of 1994. Commissioner ...

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

* Judicial Service Commission

References

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

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