The Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee (est. January 2003) 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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

was a select committee of the House of Commons which looked into the expenditure, policy and administration of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and associated public bodies. Following the reorganization of the Department of Constitutional Affairs and

Home Affairs Committee The Home Affairs Select Committee is a Departmental Committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Remit The Home Affairs Committee is one of the House of Commons Select committees related to government departments: its ...

and until the end of the 2006-2007 parliamentary session, the committee oversaw the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. The committee has been replaced by the Justice Committee.

Remit

*Constitutional Issues, including: Church and State, and Royal matters; relations with the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

and

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

;

electoral law Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management ...

; party funding *The Courts and Tribunals (but excluding individual cases) *Judicial Matters, including: judicial appointments, training and conduct; appointments to tribunals; appointment of QCs (but excluding individual appointments) *Criminal Justice, including: policy and legislation affecting the criminal courts (as distinct from criminal law, which does not fall within this committee's remit); international and European matters affecting the criminal courts *International Legal Matters *Civil Justice and Legal Services Markets, including:

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

and the Legal Services Commission; private legal services and the Legal Services Ombudsman; civil court procedure and civil law; alternative dispute resolution; law reform and the Law Commission *Family Justice and the Vulnerable, including:

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

and relationship support;

international child abduction The term international child abduction is generally synonymous with international ''parental kidnapping,'' ''child snatching'', and ''child stealing.'' However, the more precise legal usage of ''international child abduction'' originates in ...

; mental incapacity; the

Public Guardianship Office In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

; the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee;

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

people The committee's remit also covered other departments for which the

Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs The secretary of state for constitutional affairs was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The position existed from 2003 to 2007 ...

(subsequently Minister for Justice) and

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

is responsible to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, namely, th
HM Courts ServiceHM Land Registry
th
Public Record Office
th
Northern Ireland Court Service
and th
Legal Service Commission
The committee has also launched a
Inquiry
into the implementation of the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

. In March 2006, the committee said it would inquire into party funding and would interview the Labour party's chief fundraiser

Lord Levy Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy, (born 11 July 1944) is a Labour Party peer. He is a former chartered accountant and was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. He now acts as a consultant for a number of companies a ...

who had been implicated in the Cash for Peerages scandal.

External links

Records for this Committee are held at the Parliamentary ArchivesOfficial websiteDepartment for Constitutional AffairsHer Majesty's Courts ServiceLand Registry Public Record OfficeNorthern Ireland Court ServiceLegal Service Commission
{{FormerUKParliamentCommittees

Constitutional Affairs Committee The Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee (est. January 2003) of the United Kingdom was a select committee of the House of Commons which looked into the expenditure, policy and administration of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and asso ...

Remit

See also

External links