The Ministry of Justice is an integral part of the People's Republic of China and the State Council, and is responsible for the judicial administration of the country. According to the "Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Regulations on the Main Responsibilities, Internal Organizations and Staffing of the Ministry of Justice" (Guobanfa [2008] No. 64), it is mainly responsible for the following functions:
(1) Formulating judicial administration Work principles and policies, draft relevant laws and regulations, formulate departmental rules, formulate development plans for judicial administration and organize their implementation.
(2) Responsible for the management of national prisons and assume corresponding responsibilities, supervise and manage the execution of penalties and the rehabilitation of criminals.
(3) Responsible for the national management of reeducation through labor and assume corresponding responsibilities, guide and supervise the implementation of reeducation through labor, and guide and supervise the management of drug treatment centers in the judicial administration system.
(4) Formulate and organize the implementation of a national legal knowledge popularization plan, and guide legal publicity, law-based governance and external legal publicity in various localities and industries.
(5) Responsible for guiding and supervising lawyers and notarization work, and assuming corresponding responsibilities. Responsible for the entrustment and management of Hong Kong and Macao lawyers as authorized notaries.
(6) Supervise and manage legal aid work nationwide.
(7) Guide and supervise the construction of grassroots judicial offices and the work of people’s mediation, community corrections, grassroots legal services and education.
(8) Organize and implement the national judicial examination.
(9) Responsible for the registration and management of forensic experts and forensic institutions across the country.
(10) Participate in the drafting and negotiation of relevant international judicial assistance treaties, and perform the relevant responsibilities of the central agency stipulated in the judicial assistance treaties.
(11) Guide the external exchanges and cooperation of the judicial administration system, organize and participate in exchange activities between the United Nations Crime Prevention Organization and the criminal justice field, and undertake judicial administration affairs involving Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
(12) Responsible for the management of firearms, ammunition, clothing and police vehicles in the judicial administration system, and guide and supervise the financial planning of the judicial administration system.
(13) Guide and supervise the construction of the judicial administration team and the construction of ideological and work styles, be responsible for the police management and police supervision of the judicial administration system, and assist the justice departments (bureaus) of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government Leading cadre management work.
(14) Undertake other tasks assigned by the State Council.