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* [[Arthur Weasley]]: Head of the [[Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office]] under [[Cornelius Fudge]]; Head of the [[Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects]] under [[Rufus Scrimgeour]].
 
* [[Arthur Weasley]]: Head of the [[Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office]] under [[Cornelius Fudge]]; Head of the [[Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects]] under [[Rufus Scrimgeour]].
 
* [[Hermione Granger]]: After working with the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]], she eventually took a senior position in this department, reaching the level of Deputy Head of the Department by [[2014]]. Hermione went on to be [[Minister for Magic]] by 2019.
 
* [[Hermione Granger]]: After working with the [[Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures]], she eventually took a senior position in this department, reaching the level of Deputy Head of the Department by [[2014]]. Hermione went on to be [[Minister for Magic]] by 2019.
 
==Law in literature==
 
There have been numerous book written under the subject of the law and it can be safely assumed that these books are available to Magical Law Enforcement personal. These books might also play an important part in law proceedings and might prove useful for those who pursue a career in magical law. Some books include:
 
* ''[[Ancient Law]]''
 
* ''[[International Laws of Apparition and Travel]]''
 
 
* ''[[Law & Literature]]''
 
* ''[[Laws of Conduct When Dealing with Muggles]]'' 
 
* ''[[Magical Misdemeanours and the Modern Law]]'' 
 
* ''[[Muggle 'Law & Order' - Complete Guide]]''
 
* ''[[Spell Casting in the Age of Rappaport's Law]]''
 
* ''[[The Intricacies of Rappaport's Law]]''
 
   
 
==Appearances==
 
==Appearances==

Revision as of 02:29, 7 March 2018

"Level two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters, and Wizengamot Administration Services."
— Description of Auror headquarters[src]

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest department at the Ministry of Magic. Arguably the most important of the various departments, it is a combination of police and justice facilities. It is roughly the equivalent to the Home Office of Muggle Britain and all other departments are answerable to this one, with the exception of the Department of Mysteries.[3]

Since at least 2019, former Head Auror Harry Potter led the department.

Function

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has many different subdivisions and therefore many various functions, but its main function is upholding wizarding law.

Once a witch or wizard enters the magical community they must abide by the preexisting laws that are already in place. These laws keep the peace and prevent anarchy, it also gives citizens a higher authority to refer too. Consequently, elaborate and complex legal systems have been developed, aimed at maintaining order and disincentivising antisocial behaviours. Also there are many striking parallels between the Muggle and wizarding legal frameworks, but there are just as many differences.[4]

Aurors, Magical Law Enforcement Squad, and Hit Witches and Wizards are all apart of the government body.

Office location

Level Two of the Ministry of Magic houses the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Once the personnel and/or guests step out of the lift, they find themselves in a corridor lined with doors on both sides, around the corner of which there are a set of heavy oak doors leading into the Auror Headquarters: a large open area divided into small cubicles, one for each Auror.

A second set of double doors and another passage lead to a dimly lit and distinctly shabby corridor. A broom cupboard sits at the left end of the corridors, and the right side has the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office: a room of almost the same size as the cupboard with two desks and overflowing filing cabinets crammed inside.

History

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement was founded by the first Minister of Magic Ulick Gamp and it became his greatest legacy.

Justus Pilliwickle worked for the Ministry of Magic in the 19th century. He was a celebrated Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. His work in the department earned him is own Chocolate Frog Card.

In the 1970s Barty Crouch Sr was a former Head of the department, famous for aggressively prosecuting Dark Wizards in the days of Voldemort 's rise to power. His fervor led him to authorize methods almost as bad as those of the Death Eaters they were hunting; he allowed the Aurors to use the Unforgivable Curses, and imprisoned people like Sirius Black in Azkaban without a trial. Crouch was much admired at the time, but fell from grace around 1982 after he sentenced his own son to Azkaban for being a Death Eater. He was later murdered by his son in 1995.

CouncilOfMagicalLawPottermore1

The four culprits tried before the Council of Magical Law

The 1980s trail in which Crouch sentenced his son to Azkaban was a notoriously famous. It was governed by the Council of Magical Law. Four culprits were brought before the council: Bartemius Crouch Jr, Bellatrix LestrangeRabastan Lestrange, and Rodolphus Lestrange. The offence was described as so heinous, that such a crime was rarely heard of in court. It was for the capture and torture of Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom. The Longbottoms were heavily tortured by all four Death Eaters by the means of the Cruciatus Curse, eventually their minds snapped from the strain and they became permentally insane. During the court proceedings the crowd roared savage pleasure when Crouch announced that he planned to send the Death Eaters to Azkaban for life, and the sentence was given without question.

The Hearing

Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing

Amelia Bones was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in 1995 and presided over the Wizengamot. Amelia was murdered “nastily” by Death Eaters in the first weeks of the Second Wizarding War, it was speculated that she was murdered by Voldemort himself. Amelia was described as being a fair individual. Also despite Amelia's fair nature the department did hold bias within it, this was due to Minister Fudge's vendetta against Harry Potter. On 12 August, 1995 a full criminal trial was held during Harry's disciplinary hearing, even though his infraction was a simple cause of underage magic. It turned out to be nothing but a show trial and merely a way for Fudge to further his agenda.

After the Fall of the Ministry of Magic in 1997 Pius Thicknesse became the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He was under the Imperius Curse and was acting as a puppet for Voldemort, in order to do the Dark Lord's bidding. Under his reign many atrocities were committed, such as the formation of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission and the sentencing of numerous Muggle-borns to Azkaban.

After the Second Wizarding War the corruption within the department and the rest of the Ministry was weeded out and it became an enjoyable place to work. Hermione Granger became a deputy Head in this department and help rid the wizarding community of the pro pure-blood laws that were in effect. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley joined the Auror Office at the age of 17 and helped reshuffle it. Harry became Head Auror at the age of 26 and by the summer of 2020 Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Divisions

Main divisions

Auror Office

Main article: Auror Office

An Auror is a highly trained specialist officer who investigate crimes involving the Dark Arts and apprehend Dark Wizards. According to Minerva McGonagall, the Auror Office takes in new recruits with a minimum of 5 N.E.W.T.s (with marks no lower than 'Exceeds Expectations'). She suggests that Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology are the most appropriate for someone who aspires to be admitted to the training programme. A potential recruit will also have to pass "...a series of character and aptitude tests."

Nymphadora Tonks mentions that two of the programme's courses of study are "Concealment and Disguise" and "Stealth and Tracking" and that the training is hard to pass with high marks (a requirement). Aurors are the magical equivalents of Muggle counter-terrorism operatives and, during the First Wizarding War, Aurors were authorised to use the Unforgivable Curses on suspected Death Eaters; specifically, they were given the licence to kill, coerce and torture them.

Many of the Dark criminals first duel with the Aurors sent to arrest them before finally giving up their freedom. Aurors are also used to protect high-profile targets such as Harry, Hogwarts, and the Muggle Prime Minister.

Improper Use of Magic Office

This office, the Improper Use of Magic Office, punishes violations of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. This includes underage witches and wizards intentionally using magic, which suggests that this office may be in charge of the Trace, permitting them to monitor the magic used by those under the age of seventeen.

Wizengamot Administration Services

An office which undertakes administrative and clerical duties for the Wizengamot. Its function seem analogous to Muggle court registries; this would typically include maintenance of court documents, hearing dates, judges' schedules, and the administration of legal proceedings.

Other divisions

Administrative Registration Department

The Administrative Registration Department is responsible for the registration of the wizarding population. After the Fall of the Ministry of Magic, the Muggle-Born Registration Commission was created under this department. It is also possible the Animagus Registry is found within this department.

Department of Intoxicating Substances

The Department of Intoxicating Substances is a sub-division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and is responsible for making regulations on the consumption of alcoholic beverages. This included no alcohol being sold to underage witches and wizards.

Hit Wizards

Main article: Hit Wizard

Hit Wizards comprise a team of highly trained wizards tasked with arresting dangerous criminals. The entry requirements include five O.W.L.s, one of which must be Defence Against the Dark Arts. The equivalent of a Muggle S.W.A.T. Team. Members have a personal bed reserved at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.[5] In 1993, Cornelius Fudge suggested that only Hit Wizards should attempt to capture Sirius Black, an Azkaban escapee then believed to be a highly dangerous criminal.

Investigation Department

The Investigation Department was a subdivision of the Auror Office. It centred on investigation and tracking down dark wizards. This division also exists in MACUSA's Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well.

Magical Law Enforcement Patrol

The Magical Law Enforcement Patrol (formerly the Magical Law Enforcement Squad) is tasked with general law enforcement, like with the Muggle police. In the 1920s it was headed by Bob Ogden, who led a team to Little Hangleton to arrest Marvolo and Morfin Gaunt for crimes against both Muggles and the Ministry, since the House of Gaunt had avoided previous attempts at arrest.

Ministry of Magic Witch Watchers

Ministry of Magic Witch Watchers are a special Ministry force that presumably is stationed at strategical places in search of fugitive criminals. This branch of the department was in charge of the 1993 manhunt for Sirius Black. It is also possible that they were in charge of tracking the escapees of the 1996 mass Azkaban breakout.

Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office

This office regulates the use of magic on Muggle objects and confiscates those which have been illegally bewitched. One of the laws they enforce is the prohibition on magically altering a Muggle vehicle with the intent to fly it. It was headed by Arthur Weasley until his promotion in 1996.

Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects

This office was created in 1996 by Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, in response to the growing threat of Lord Voldemort and the rise of dangerous or dubious spells and products which claimed to provide protection against the Dark Arts. Arthur Weasley was promoted to head this operation. Its duties involved preventing the trade of fake and/or useless spells, potions and artefacts that appeared during the Second Wizarding War.

Law structure

Punishments meted out are comparable in severity to the crimes to which they refer, discretion plays a part.[6] Harry Potter correctly thought he was in for serious punishment for swelling Marjorie Dursley, yet was reassured by Cornelius Fudge that the powers-that-be "don’t send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts".[7] This was of course only because Cornelius had an interest in Harry being free. By contrast, when Dolores Umbridge sought to neutralise the young wizard, she used her discretion to try and punish him most harshly and send him to prison.[8]

This application of discretion need not be sneaky, or even serve the greater good.[9] For example, when Igor Karkaroff was in the frame for his crimes as a Death Eater he managed to reduce the severity of his sentence by volunteering the names of his associates.[10] In Muggle legalese, this kind of legal activity is known as ‘plea-bargaining’.[11]

Curiously, while a witch or wizard on trial at the Wizengamot can nominate a third party to represent them, there do not appear to be lawyers in the Muggle sense, just a panel who vote in a simple majority (as seen when Ludo Bagman was acquitted by the court by virtue of his status as a popular Quidditch hero).[12] Perhaps the law isn’t seen as a particularly desirable career choice, as Hermione Granger acidly observed when asked by Rufus Scrimgeour if she sought a career in Magical Law.[13]

Crimes

Any young witch or wizard that tries to perform spells at home before the age of 17 will run afoul of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery (1875).[14] The intention of this statute was presumably two-fold: to keep potentially dangerous or hazardous magic out of inexperienced hands prior to their proper education (policed by a Trace detection spell which automatically expires when the young witch or wizard turns 17), and also to prevent Muggles coming into contact with magic, as per the International Statute of Secrecy (1692).[15]

Although in the wizarding world, a lot of accidental underage magic tends to just result in a slapped wrist.[16] Harry Potter received a mere letter for his early transgressions.[17]

In the field of animal law: Aberforth Dumbledore’s brush with the law for "using inappropriate charms on a goat" needs little elaboration. It is interesting to note stringent controls on the trade of dragon eggs, the creating of Basilisks, ‘experimental breeding’ in general and a statute banning the poaching of the Ramora fish, a magical native of the Indian Ocean.[18]

Taken most seriously, in both legal jurisdictions, are laws which pertain to crimes against the person. The most obvious examples are those laws which refer to murder or grievous bodily harm.[19] A wizarding defendant can expect the harshest sentences for the Darkest magic — the Unforgivable Curses.[20]

Punishment

Minor infractions are settled with fines — such as when Arthur Weasley was penalised 50 Galleons for ‘bewitching a Muggle car’.[21] Custodial sentences are also doled out, but it probably goes without saying that Muggle jails are not fit to restrain wizarding kind — as demonstrated by mischievous witch Lisette de Lapin, who broke out of a Parisian cell in 1422, much to the frustration of her would-be executioners.[22] Azkaban is a highest-security prison (bringing even the doughty Rubeus Hagrid to tears), especially when patrolled by the soul-sucking Dementors.[23]

For another example of archaic punishment, it’s worth looking across the pond.[24] In 1920s New York, Porpentina Goldstein was suspended in a chair above the death potion, a method of execution hideously reminiscent of the medieval Muggle use of the cucking stool to dunk those accused of crimes in the water, sometimes until they drowned.[25]

Miscarriages of justice

While the legal system performs a vital function maintaining order, the wizarding world seems rather prone to mistakes and iffy outcomes.[26] Sometimes this is a result of an unfairly weighted system, as when Buckbeak was sentenced to death for scratching a member of the politically influential Malfoy family.[27] Also consider when Sirius Black was dispatched to Azkaban for Peter Pettigrew’s crime, though he was later exonerated.[28]

It’s worth taking heart from the idea that the law, while imperfect, is flexible.[29] Even rule sticklers, like Percy Weasley saw room for improvement in the system, and Hermione’s tireless championing of house-elf rights reflected a noble tradition of fighting for justice.[30]

Known personnel

Heads of department

Aurors

Other personnel

Appearances

Notes and references

Department of Magical Law Enforcement employees
Department of Magical Law Enforcement logo
Heads of Department
Justus Pilliwickle · Torquil Travers · Bartemius Crouch Senior · Amelia Bones · Pius Thicknesse · Corban Yaxley · Arthur Weasley · Harry Potter
Auror Office
Heads: Theseus Scamander · Rufus Scrimgeour · Gawain Robards · Harry Potter
Mordecai Berrycloth · John Dawlish · Penelope Fawley · Dorian Fungbury · Timothy Hale · Alice Longbottom · Frank Longbottom · Neville Longbottom · Patricia McManners · Alastor Moody · Alastor Moody's father · Riya Patel · Proudfoot · Savage · Kingsley Shacklebolt · Nymphadora Tonks · Ronald Weasley · Williamson · Unidentified Aurors · Helen Thistlewood · Solomon Sallow · Aesop Sharp · Aesop Sharp's partner · Unidentified male Auror at Hogwarts · Director of the Investigation Department No. 61042
Improper Use of Magic Office
Heads: Travers · Dolores Umbridge
Mafalda Hopkirk · Honoria's fiancé · Mafalda Hopkirk's Ministerial Superior · Rufus Fudge · Orabella Nuttley · Chester Davies · Linderina Crane
Other personnel
Council of Magical Law guards · Leta Lestrange · Minerva McGonagall · Elphinstone Urquart · Elton Elderberry · Alastor Gumboil · Arnold Peasegood · Arthur Weasley · Perkins · Bilius Finbok · Cerberus Langarm · Hermione Granger · Bob Ogden · Constance Pickering · Ruth Singer · Tulip Karasu's mother · Tulip Karasu's father · Dempster Wiggleswade · Amelia Bones's assistant · Arthur Weasley's ten subordinates · Unidentified Hit Wizard · Unidentified Wizengamot clerk · Director of the Investigation Department and Ministry Police
British Ministry of Magic Departments
Department of International Magical Cooperation Ministry of Magic Latin Logo Department of Magical Education logo Department of Magical Law Enforcement logo MinistryOfMagicLogo - Cursed Child DMAC clear MBRC clear Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures logo DMT clear
Level 1 Level 2
Minister for Magic and Support Staff Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Office of the Minister for Magic · Office of the Advisor to the Minister for Magic · Office of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic · Office of the Junior Assistant to the Minister for Magic Auror Office · Department of Intoxicating Substances · Improper Use of Magic Office · Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office · Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects · Wizengamot Administration Services
Level 3 Level 4
Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
Accidental Magic Reversal Squad · Invisibility Task Force · Muggle Liaison Office · Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee · Obliviator Headquarters Beast Division · Being Division · Centaur Liaison Office · Goblin Liaison Office · Office for House-Elf Relocation · Office of Misinformation · Pest Advisory Board · Spirit Division
Level 5 Level 6
Department of International Magical Co-operation Department of Magical Transportation
International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats · International Magical Office of Law · International Magical Trading Standards Body Apparition Test Centre · Broom Regulatory Control · Floo Network Authority · Portkey Office
Level 7 Level 8
Department of Magical Games and Sports The Atrium
British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters · Official Gobstones Club · Ludicrous Patents Office Lobby and Reception Area · Fountain of Magical Brethren · Magic is Might monument · Ministry Munchies · Security Desk · Lifts · Magical Maintenance Office
Level 9 Level 10
Department of Mysteries Wizengamot Courtrooms
Hall of Prophecy · Death Chamber · Brain Room · Time Chamber · Space Chamber · Love Chamber Courtroom Ten