Wizengamot

* Order of the Phoenix (when Fudge was running his Anti-Dumbledore campaign and when Voldemort overthrew the Ministry)
* Dark Wizards and Witches

The **Wizengamot** is wizarding Britain's high court of law and parliament. It predates the Ministry of Magic itself, dating back to the days of the medieval Wizards' Council. Its administrative headquarters are located in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement of the Ministry of Magic, whilst the trials take place in the dungeons of the lower levels.

While court is in session, members wear plum-coloured robes embroidered with a silver letter *W*.

## History

The Wizengamot predates the Ministry of Magic. It has been in activity since, at least, 1544.

In 1707, when the Ministry of Magic was established, the Wizengamot was incorporated into the newly-created Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The first Minister for Magic, Ulick Gamp, had previously been Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Albus Dumbledore held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot in the 20th century, except during the period of July 1995 to June 1996, in which he was removed from the post because of his insistence that Lord Voldemort had returned. He was reinstated when the Ministry was forced to acknowledge Voldemort's return, specifically when he appeared in person at the Ministry of Magic in 1996.

In the same period, two of the Wizengamot's oldest members, Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden, resigned from the court in protest after Cornelius Fudge created the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor to usurp control of Hogwarts from Dumbledore and were subsequently discredited alongside him; it is unknown if they were reinstated afterwards.

## Functionality

Nowadays, the Wizengamot functions as a combination of court and parliament.

It is made up of around fifty members. The process for selecting members is unclear, though the Minister for Magic appears to have some power over the final selection. Aside from the judges and the Head Warlock, there is a Court Scribe that records the proceedings while the Wizengamot is in session. The Minister for Magic, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement have been known to attend significant trials and hearings, but it is unknown if this is routine. A British Youth Representative, who shall be no more than 17 years old, is present at times as well.

Given that the Wizengamot was presided over by the Minister for Magic in the 1995 trial of Harry Potter, the period in which Albus Dumbledore had lost this title of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, it is unclear whether the Minister always heads the Wizengamot, or if he took on the role of Chief Warlock himself. It is also possible that the Chief Warlock acts as an impartial executive figure, much like the Queen does over the British and Commonwealth Parliaments.

## Trials

Trials appear to be brief and concise. The accused may present witnesses to be questioned by the Wizengamot. A third-party with legal knowledge may speak on behalf of a defendant, fulfilling a similar role to that of a modern barrister. However, no wizarding lawyers seem to exist, and the practise of having a spokesperson on behalf of a defendant appears to be rare.

### Aberforth Dumbledore and the goat

Aberforth Dumbledore was once prosecuted for "*using inappropriate charms on a goat*".

### Dementor Attack in Little Whinging

> "*Feeling rather sick, Harry looked up at the people seated at the bench above. There were about fifty of them… all staring down their noses at him, some with very austere expressions, others looks of frank curiosity*"
> ― Harry Potter during his hearing before the Wizengamot[source]
>
>

On 12 August 1995,the Wizengamot tried Harry on a charge of violating the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. Harry had been forced to produce a Patronus to defend himself and his cousin Dudley Dursley against two Dementors. The time of the hearing was changed sometime the night before the trial, and although the Wizengamot sent a letter to Harry informing of this, it was sent so close to the time of the trial that it was intended that he not receive it in time. Nonetheless, Albus Dumbledore presented Harry's defence and Cornelius Fudge reluctantly dismissed the charges after a majority ruled in favour of clearing him. It was later revealed that Dolores Umbridge had sent the Dementors to attack Harry in order to silence him.

Percy Weasley later sent a letter to his brother Ron referring to "the whole Wizengamot," implying that this type of trial was unusual. Smaller disciplinary hearings do not require the court's attention at all and are dealt with by a single investigator, as the original hearing was supposed to be in Amelia Bones's office, and that Dumbledore himself noted the unnatural change to press forward with a full trial on a simple case of underage magic due to Fudge's haste in law changing.

### Sturgis Podmore

Around 7 September 1995, Sturgis Podmore stood trial for trespass and attempted robbery at the British Ministry of Magic.

## Etymology

The word "Wizengamot" is a portmanteau formed with the words "wizard" and "Witenagemot." The Witenagemot was a council of powerful nobles who convened to advise and appoint kings in Anglo-Saxon England. The word derives from the Old English for "meeting of wise men" - *witan*, meaning "wise man" or "counsellor", and *gemot*, meaning "assembly". So it can be said that "Wizengamot" means "assembly of wizards".