The Ministry of Justice (Abrv: MOJ;, ) is a cabinet ministry in the Government of Thailand. The ministry is in charge of the criminal justice system in the kingdom. As well as running prisons and aiding the Royal Thai Police, the ministry also runs the government's drug and narcotic control policies. The ministry is headed by the Minister of Justice, Tawee Sodsong. Its fiscal year 2020 budget is 26,757 million baht.

History

The ministry was established in 1891 by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). The monarch centralized the court and judicial system of the country. The sixteen courts were combined into seven courts. In 1912, under King Vajiravudh (Rama VI), the ministry was divided when the Court of Justice was given responsibilities over judicial affairs and the ministry retained responsibility for the legal and administrative areas. In 1991, the National Assembly of Thailand passed the Improvement of Government Organisation Act. Article 21 of the act indicated the ministry was to be responsible for the administration of the Courts of Justice (except for adjudications and the criminal justice system.

List of ministers

Departments

Administration

Dependent departments

Public organizations

Department directly under the justice minister