The Committee for Justice is one of nine statutory committees at Stormont, each shadowing a single Executive department. It scrutinises the work of the Department of Justice and its minister, examining policy, expenditure and administration, and considers justice legislation in detail during a bill’s Committee Stage.
Statutory committees advise and assist their department’s minister in developing policy, can launch their own inquiries, and must approve or reject certain secondary legislation before it takes effect. This gives them influence over departmental business beyond formal bill scrutiny alone.
Who sits on it
The Committee for Justice is chaired by Paul Frew (Democratic Unionist Party), with Emma Sheerin (Sinn Féin) as deputy chair. See the full nine-member roster on the committee’s page.
Bills before it
Three bills are currently assigned to the Committee for Justice as they work their way through the Assembly:
- Justice Bill — Consideration Stage
- Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc.) Bill — Committee Stage
- Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill — Committee Stage
Data sources
Membership, chair and bill-stage data are drawn from the NI Assembly’s official committee and legislation records, kept up to date by the weekly Assembly sync.
See the Committee for Justice’s full roster and remit at mlas.news/committee/committee-for-justice/.