Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)

The Ministry of Justice ("Ministerie van Justitie"; Jus) is the Dutch ministry of justice. The current minister is Ernst Hirsch Ballin, he is aided by a state secretary Nebahat Albayrak.

Responsibilities

The Ministry has the legal mission to:
* provide workable legislation for citizens, government and the courts.
* prevent crime, in order to build a safer society.
* protect youth and children.
* enforcement the law, in order to build a safer society.
* provide independent, accessible and effective administration of justice and legal aid.
* provide support to the victims of crime.
* provide fair, consistent and effective enforcement of punishment and other sanctions.
* regulate immigration into the Netherlands.

It is also responsible for the coordination of anti-terrorism policy.

Because it shares so many responsibilities and the same building with the ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, they are sometimes called the twin ministries.

Organisation

The ministry is currently headed by one ministers and one state secretary. It employes almost 30,000 civil servants, at the ministry in the Hague and all around the Netherlands. The ministry's main office is located in the centre of the Hague in the same building as the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations. The civil service is headed by a secretary general and a deputy secretary general, who head a system of three directorates general:
* The Directorate-General for Legislation, International Affairs and Immigration
* The Directorate-General for Prevention, Youth and Sanctions
* The Directorate-General for the Administration of Justice and Law Enforcement

The Board of Procurators General (in Dutch: "Raad van Procureurs-Generaal") which heads the Prosecutors' Office (in Dutch: "Openbaar Ministerie", OM) is a relatively independent organization which forms part of the Judiciary and prosecutes those who break the law.

The Dutch Forensic Institute is an autonomous division of the Ministry of Justice resorting under the Directorate-General for Law Enforcement.

Ministers

Since 1989 the following politicians have been minister of Justice

* 2006-now Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA, Minister of Justice)
** 2006-now Nebahat Albayrak (PvdA, state secretary for Migration)
* 2002-2006 Piet Hein Donner (CDA, Minister of Justice)
** 2003-2006 Rita Verdonk (VVD, Minister without Portfolio for Migration and Integration)
** 2002-2003 Hilbrand Nawijn (LPF, Minister without Portfolio for Migration and Integration)
* 1998-2002 Benk Korthals (VVD, Minister of Justice)
** 2000-2002 Ella Kalsbeek (PvdA, State Secretary for Migration)
** 1998-2000 Job Cohen (PvdA, State Secretary for Migration)
* 1994-1998 Winnie Sorgdrager (D66, Minister of Justice)
** 1994-1998 Elisabeth Schmitz (PvdA, State Secretary for Migration)
* 1994 Aad Kosto (PvdA, Minister of Justice)
* 1989-1994 Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA, Minister of Justice)
** 1989-1994 Aad Kosto (PvdA, State Secretary of Migration)

External links

* [http://english.justitie.nl/ Ministry of justice]