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Our Remit

Who does CJI inspect?

 
Under the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 CJI was originally given the power to inspect nine named organisations. Further additions were later made by Order and as a result of s.45 of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007.
 
A full list of the organisations currently subject to inspection by CJI are shown below.
 

Key criminal justice organisations

Other organisations inspected by CJI
  • The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI);
  • The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA);
  • The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS);
  • The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division;
  • The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS);
  
  • Health and Social Care Board and Trusts (HSCB/HSCTs);
  • The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI).
  • The Department for Economy (DfE).
  • The Youth Justice Agency (YJA);
  • The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI).
  • The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS);
  • The Department for Communities (DfC) (Benefit Fraud);
  • The Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (OPONI);
  • Royal Mail Group;
  • Forensic Science Northern Ireland (FSNI);
  • Belfast International Airport Ltd (BIA);
  • The State Pathologist’s Department;
  • Belfast Harbour Commissioners;
  • The Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland (LSANI);
  • Larne Harbour Ltd.
  • The Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland;
  
 
  • Community-based restorative justice schemes;
  
  • Probation and Bail hostels (Approved Premises)
  

By law, CJI is not allowed to investigate individual cases but it can, when asked by the Minister for Justice, undertake specific pieces of work including investigations and reviews.
 

Diagram of How Criminal Justice Inspectorate works

Who does it report to?

CJI is funded by the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. The Chief Inspector is appointed by the Minister of Justice.
 
CJI is an independent Inspectorate which under law is required to make all its reports publicly available.  It must also lay all its reports before the Northern Ireland Assembly. 
 
While permission to publish a report must be sought from the Minister for Justice, they are not allowed to influence or alter the content of CJI’s reports. The Minister of Justice may only deny permission to publish a report or request that part of a report is altered or omitted when it would be against the public interest, or might jeopardise the safety of any person.
 

What has changed following devolution?

The Chief Inspector reports to the Minister of Justice since the devolution of policing and justice powers on 12 April 2010.  Prior to this, the Chief Inspector reported to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.