The Justice Select Committee of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is a select committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

which scrutinizes the policy, administration, and spending of the

Ministry of Justice 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 addition, the committee examines the work of the

Law Officers of the Crown The law officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Ad ...

, the Serious Fraud Office, and the

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

. The committee also reviews draft Sentencing Guidelines issued by the

Sentencing Council The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is a non-departmental public body that is responsible for developing sentencing guidelines, monitoring the use of guidelines and assessing and reviewing a wide range of decisions relating to sentenc ...

(formerly the

Sentencing Guidelines Council In criminal law, a sentence is the punishment for a crime ordered by a trial court after conviction in a criminal procedure, normally at the conclusion of a trial. A sentence may consist of imprisonment, a fine, or other sanctions. Sentences for ...

.) The committee scrutinises the work of the

Secretary of State for Justice 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 ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and the

Minister of State for Prisons The Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending (or simply Prisons Minister) is a mid-level ministerial office in the Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom), Ministry of Justice. On 5 July 2024 James Timpson was appointed by ...

among others.

Current membership

Membership of the committee is as follows:

Changes since 2024

2019-2024 Parliament

The chair was elected on 29 January 2020, with the members of the committee being announced on 2 March 2020.

Changes 2019-2024

2017–2019 Parliament

The chair was elected on 12 July 2017, with the members of the committee being announced on 11 September 2017.

Changes 2017–2019

2015–2017 Parliament

The chair was elected on 18 June 2015, with members being announced on 6 July 2015.

Changes 2015–2017

2010–2015 Parliament

The chair was elected on 10 June 2010, with members being announced on 12 July 2010.

Changes 2010–2015

References

External links

Official website

Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary Archives
{{UKParliamentCommittees Select Committees of the British House of Commons Parliamentary committees on Justice