Ministry of Justice (France)

Ministry Of Justice (France)

The Ministry of Justice is controlled by the French Minister of Justice - Keeper of the Seals (Ministre de la Justice - Garde des Sceaux), a top-level cabinet position in the French government. The current Minister of Justice is Christiane Taubira. The ministry is headquartered in Paris.

The roles of the minister are to:

  • oversee the building, maintenance and administration of courts;
  • sit as vice-president of the judicial council (which oversees the judicial performance and advises on prosecutiorial performance);
  • supervise public prosecutions;
  • direct corrections and the prison system
  • propose legislation affecting civil or criminal law or procedure.

An ongoing topic of controversy is the amount of control that the Minister of Justice should have on public prosecutions. While it seems desirable that the prosecution should not follow the whim of the executive, especially in cases involving politicians (corruption...), some argue that a prosecution service responsible to no one could go astray.

The Minister of Justice also holds the ceremonial office of Keeper of the Seals and, as such, is custodian of the Great Seal of France.

Read more about Ministry Of Justice (France):  Bureaus and Offices

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