The Minister of Justice (in

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

: ''Tāhū o te Ture'') is a minister in the government of New Zealand. The minister has responsibility for the formulation of justice policy and for the administration of law courts. The current Minister of Justice is

Kiri Allan Kiritapu Lyndsay Allan (born 1984) is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament (MP) in the New Zealand House of Representatives. A member of the Labour Party, she entered the House as a list MP in 2017, and won the East Coast electora ...

History

The first Minister of Justice was appointed in 1870. This was followed in 1872 by the creation of the Department of Justice. The

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

is responsible for supervising New Zealand law and advising the Government on legal matters, and has ministerial jurisdiction over the Crown Law Office and the Parliamentary Counsel Office. The position is separate from that of 'Minister of Justice', though the two positions have sometimes been held by the same person, e.g.

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians * Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pa ...

(1984 to 1989). Responsibility for the police has never technically belonged to the Minister of Justice ''per se''. Originally, the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

was responsible. During the early 20th century, however, it became established that the person serving as Minister of Justice was also the minister in charge of the police. This continued until the election of the First Labour Government in 1935, when responsibility for the police became detached – the Minister of Police was eventually established as a full ministerial post in 1969. In 1995, the Department of Justice was split into three parts – a Ministry of Justice would deal with policy matters, while the practical administration of the court system and the prison system would be given their own departments. This resulted in the creation of two new ministerial portfolios – Minister of Court and Minister of Corrections. The former has since been absorbed back into the Justice portfolio, but the latter is still independent.

List of justice ministers

;Key

References

External links

New Zealand Ministry of Justice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minister Of Justice (New Zealand)

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 ...

Public office-holders in New Zealand

History

List of justice ministers

See also

References

External links