Guide to the Ministry of Magic

[The New Ages]

"The Ministry of Magic is the governmental authority of the for the wizarding world in Britain.

The Ministry consists of seven departments of which the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest. All of the other departments are in some way answerable to it, with the possible exception of the Department of Mysteries.

The Ministry has its headquarters in London. It consists of numerous Departments, Committees, Boards, and Offices whose job it is to make and enforce laws and regulations... The Ministry also handles commerce and international relations.

There are a number of law enforcement agencies within the Ministry. They maintain order, enforce laws and regulations, deal with breaches of security, and operate Azkaban, the wizard prison... The Ministry also maintains squads of Hit Wizards to deal with criminals and elite Aurors to track down Dark wizards. The Wizengamot is the High Wizard Court, a body which serves as the ultimate arbiter of justice for the wizarding world.

Other countries have similar governing bodies... All of these governmental organizations have signed the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692 which set down many requirements for individual countries to keep the Muggles unaware of the wizarding world. This requires the Ministries of each country to monitor activities such as Quidditch and to protect and hide the various magical beasts which live within their borders."

All information credited to HP-Lexicon, Hogwarts: TNA Admin does not take credit.


*However, with the Statue of Secrecy no longer in effect, every government handles what Muggles know in their own ways, with their own Rules and Regulations.

[The New Ages]

"

The Wizards' Council

The Wizards' Council was the predecessor to the Ministry of Magic. Barberus Bragge was the Chief of the Council in 1269. Burdock Muldoon was Chief of the Wizards' Council in the fourteenth century. He was followed in office by Elfrida Clagg, who is generally regarded as being more enlightened than her predecessors. Elfrida outlawed the hunting of the Golden Snidget, banned its use in Quidditch, and set up a reservation to protect the tiny bird. The Wizards' Council spent quite a lot of time and effort on trying to figure out who should be allowed to participate in governing the wizarding world. Various definitions were proposed of what constituted a Being and what constituted a Beast. Burdock Muldoon decided that anything or anyone who walked on two legs was a Being, and summoned all Beings to a great coucil to decide on laws. The goblins took advantage of this definition to fill the meeting hall with every strange creature they could find who walked on two legs, from diricawls to pixies to trolls. This disaster led Muldoon to give up trying to integrate non-wizards into the community. Elfrida Clagg, his successor, tried again, this time defining a Being as anyone or anything which could speak in human language. Again, however, this definition brought enormous problems, since creatures such as Jarveys attended and caused mayhem.

The dates of Burdock Muldoon's Chieftainship of the Council are unclear. While his Famous Wizard card gives the dates as 1448-1450, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them indicates that he was Chief in the fourteenth century, not the fifteenth. Elfrida Clagg, was Muldoon's successor, but her Famous Wizard card states that she was Chieftainess of the Warlock's Council during the 1600s.

The International Confederation of Wizards

The International Confederation of Wizards, a governing body overseeing the various individual nations' councils and ministries, met for weeks on end toward the end of the 1600s. Persecution of wizards was growing more and more fierce and something had to be done. The decision was made that the wizarding world would remove itself from contact with the Muggle world. The practcial problems involved in this were tremendous. How do you hide a fully grown dragon, for example? But eventually, in 1692, the Confederation passed the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy. The ministries of every country now subject themselves to this Code, and it is perhaps the most important law in all of the wizarding world. The Confederation still exists today and still maintains the Code of Secrecy, fining nations who fail to keep it carefully The Confederation met for the first time in France. Its first Supreme Mugwump was Pierre Bonaccord, but the wizarding community from Liechtenstein objected. Bonaccord wanted to give trolls rights and stop the hunting of them, which didn't sit very well with the wizards from Liechtenstein, who were having problems with Mountain trolls.

The Ministry of Magic

The Ministry of Magic, headed by the Minister for Magic, came into begin sometime during the 1600s. The Ministry was involved in the International Confederation of Wizards' decision to create the Code of Secrecy and still today takes the responsibility to enforce the Code. For example, when Harry Potter used a Patronus Charm to drive off two Dementors in the presense of his Muggle cousin, he was nearly expelled from Hogwarts and his wand broken in half as penalty for breaching the Code. The laws against magic-use by underage wizards and against wand use by non-wizard folk are also enforced by the Ministry in part to maintain secrecy."



All information credited to HP-Lexicon, Hogwarts: TNA Admin does not take credit.

[The New Ages]

International Code of Wizarding Secrecy
|*|No Longer in Effect
|*|No non- Witch, Wizard, or Squib, excepting for Muggle parents and siblings, be aware of our existence.


Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery
1875
*violation under paragraph C knowingly, deliberately, in full awareness of illegality, to do magic in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle.
*clause 7 magic may be used before Muggles in exceptional circumstances, which include situations that include the life of the Wizard or Witch himself, or Witches, Wizards, or Muggles present.


Trace Spell
All Wizards and Witches of school age or older are kept track of on a register of their places of residence. However, they do not keep track of squibs, and may not keep track of Muggle-born wizards and witches too young to enter Hogwarts.
Age seventeen (17) is considered to be the Legal Adult Age when Young Adults may begin Practicing Magic outside of an Educational Setting.


Code of Wand Use
clause 3: no non-human creature permitted a wand.


Muggle Protection Act
|*|Muggles are to be protected of, and shielded from, all Wizarding Activity.


Wizengamot Charter of Rights
The accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case.


International Ban on Dueling
|*|Dueling, except within competitions and areas marked as safe for practicing, is strictly forbidden.


Unforgivable Curses
Using one of these curses on a fellow human being could earn you a life sentence in Azkaban.


Apparition
You must have a license to Apparate.
In order to gain a license, you must be at least 17 years of age.


Werewolf Code of Conduct
1637
|*|Werewolves will act accordingly in a humanistic manner.


Ban on Experimental Breeding
1965
|*|Breeding of Dangerous Creatures will only be done by highly trained professionals.
Breeding shall not be crossed with creatures not of the same species.


Trade Restrictions:

• Class A Non-Tradeable Goods
  (e.g., dragon eggs)
  
• Class B Tradeable Materials (Dangerous and Subject to Strict Control)
  (e.g., Erumpent horn)
  
• Class C Non-Tradeable Substance
  Venomous Tentacula seeds
  
• Ban on Importing Flying Carpets
  (classified as a Muggle artifact)

Registries

Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects

Werewolf Register
1947

Animagi



*Information Marked with "|*|" is credited to Hogwarts: TNA Admin
*Information Marked with "|*|" is credited to JK Rowling
*All Other Information credited to HP-Lexicon

[The New Ages]

Administration

Minister of Magic
Senior Undersecretary
Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic


Department of Magical Games and Sports -1750

British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters
Official Gobstones Club
Ludicrous Patents Office


Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

Accidental Magic Reversal Squad
Invisibility Task Force
Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee
Obliviator Headquarters


Department of International Magical Cooperation

International Confederation of Wizards
International Magical Office of Law
International Magical Trading Standards Body
Muggle Relations


Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Aurors
Improper Use of Magic Office
Magical Law Enforcement Squad
---Hitwizards
Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office
Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects
Wizengamot and Wizengamot Administration Services Council of Magical Law
Magical Equipment Control


Department of Magical Transportation

Broom Regulatory Control
Floo Regulation Panel/Floo Network Authority
Portkey Office
Apparition Test Center


Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

Office of Misinformation
Beast Division
Centaur Liaison Office
Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures
Dragon Research and Restraint Bureau
Pest Advisory Board
Werewolf Capture Unit
Being Division
Goblin Liaison Office
Office of House-Elf Relocation
Werewolf Support Services
Spirit Division


Department of Mysteries



All Information Credited to HP-Lexicon and JK Rowling