Wizengamot

## Mentions

Chapter 257 - Intro to the Wizengamot

Chapter 285 - Wizengamot Work

Chapter 289 - Proposing Legislation

Chapter 362 - Intrigue at the Wizengamot

Chapter 368 - Ron and his Rat

The Wizengamot seats are distributed in the following way:

* There are 8 seats for the Ministry Department Heads
* The Sacred 28 families each have a seat (like a peer of the realm seat)
* There are 13 MP seats, one from each region of the UK
* There is 1 seat for the British Youth Representative

Current Heads of Departments:

* Minister’s office - Cornelius Fudge
* Dept of Magical Law Enforcement – Amelia Bones
* Dept of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes – Era Hornbeam
* Dept for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures – Royce Fiddlewood
* Dept of International Magical Cooperation – Barty Crouch
* Dept of Magical Transportation – Muse Boothe
* Dept of Magical Games and Sports – Ludo Bagman
* Dept of Mysteries – Wouldn't *you* like to know?

### Sacred 28

Each of the following wizarding families (known as "The Sacred Twenty-Eight") has one family seat on the Wizengamot, which is passed down via inheritance and bloodline.

Currently, the following families have seats on the Wizengamot:

* Abbott
* Avery
* Black
* Bulstrode
* Burke
* Carrow
* Crouch
* Fawley
* Flint
* Gaunt
* Greengrass
* Lestrange
* Longbottom
* Macmillan
* Malfoy
* Nott
* Ollivander
* Parkinson
* Prewett
* Rosier
* Rowle
* Selwyn
* Shacklebolt
* Shafiq
* Slughorn
* Travers
* Weasley
* Yaxley

### UK Regional Seats

* South East
* London
* North West
* East of England
* West Midlands
* South West
* Yorkshire and the Humber
* East Midlands
* North East
* Wales
* Scotland
* Northern Ireland
* Ireland

### British Youth Representative

The last seat in the Wizengamot is reserved for the British Youth Representative.

* The British Youth Representative is required to be a magical UK resident aged 11-16.
* When the British Youth Representative reaches the wizarding age of majority at 17, an election is held for a new Youth Representative to be elected.

**Known British Youth Representatives**

## Chief Warlock

The Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot serves as parliamentarian for the session. The Chief Warlock brings the sessions to order, calls for votes, counts votes, and leads questioning of suspects in judicial matters.

Current Chief Warlock: Albus Dumbledore

## Responsibilities of the Wizengamot

### Legislative

* A member (or their representative [read: ministry lackey]) proposes legislation.
	+ A second member must sponsor the legislation
		- Members then speak for/against the legislation. Each member gets one turn.
		- Legislation is occasionally sent to committee for further research, which rarely helps or works.
			* When everyone who wants to speak has spoken, members vote. Majority rules.
			* Ties are broken by vote-off of the MP seats

### Judicial

* **Wizengamot** is the High Court of the land and handles appealed matters and high profile cases such as: murder trials, dark arts trials, trials where the law may be changed, etc.
* Each MP region (See list above) has a local court/magistrate, with jurisdiction on small claims in civil matters, a number of regulatory applications, small criminal offenses, etc.
* Ministry courtrooms are often used for trials wherein the parties cross regions. In this case, the magistrates of both regions are brought in, as well as all 13 MP members, to serve as the court.
* In general, trials are brief and concise. The accused may present witnesses to be questioned by the Wizengamot. A third-party with legal knowledge can speak on behalf of a defendant, similar to a modern barrister. However, no wizarding lawyers seem to exist, and having a spokesperson on behalf of a defendant appears rare. Possibly due to low demand and not a sustainable career choice?
* The highest role in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is **Wand of the Realm**, which is basically Attorney General/Prosecutor for the Crown, who is suggested by Minister or Dept. MLA head, and subsequently confirmed by the Wizengamot.
	+ Current Wand of the Realm: Alexandra Jones