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Wizard Crime and Wizard Punishment

“Ministry v. Harry Potter: An Analysis of Wizarding Britain's Legal System,” by kitsunerei88, is an analysis of Wizarding Britain's legal system, by a (non-English) lawyer. It works off the Death Eater Trials in GOF, the trial in OP, and the Muggle-born Registration Commission in DH. I recommend reading the whole thing, but kitsunerei88's concluding points are that:

• Wizarding Britain's legal system is fundamentally based on the trials of peers in Great Britain in the 1500s and 1600s.
• Structurally, there is no separation whatsoever between the judiciary and the executive or legislative branches of government.
• There is no judicial independence, and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement is involved both in the investigation into the facts of the case as well as the trial process.
• There is no fixed number of people hearing a case, but verdicts are delivered by majority, not by unanimity.
• There are no lawyers, and likely no automatic right to counsel.
• Due process rights are limited or practically non-existent. There are likely no written decisions.
• There are no appeals.
• There are different rules for creatures, even sentient creatures, than there are for wizards. Given the history of this form of legal proceeding and the choices made, there is a strong argument that Wizarding Britain's legal system is highly stratified, where different people of different statuses may have different rights and privileges.

Kitsunerei88 also wrote a more general-purpose Legal Worldbuilding Guide .

Wellingtongoose's essay “Getting Away with Murder” suggests that we should interpret the flagrant child endangerment at Hogwarts not as the product of illogic but as representative of Magical British values: everybody knows that the school is mildly dangerous, but nobody cares much so long as nobody actually dies. The essay briefly references attitudes at 19th century boarding schools.

Pharnabazus posited that Britain was based more on patron-client relationships than rule of law, and wrote a ten-part essay to argue for this position and describe some of the finer points: Part 1 is about “bastard feudalism” and patron-client relationships, briefly illustrated with a couple of examples from canon. Part 2 describes Fudge's place in this system. Part 3 describes Dumbledore, Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, and Crouch Senior and their places in the system. Part 4 uses Percy Weasley to illustrate a transition between PCNs. Part 5 goes into greater depth regarding Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Part 6 explains the purpose of the PCN which Voldemort built, and Part 7 uses Voldemort's apparent death at the conclusion of the First War in order to discuss what happens to a PCN when the patron disappears. Part 8 discusses the costs of maintaining a PCN, and why Lucius might have decided to throw a cursed book into Hogwarts. Part 9 is about how Harry, somewhat on his own and somewhat with Dumbledore's assistance from the side, begins to assemble his own PCN in OOTP. Part 10 is a recap that fills a few minor holes. If you're interested but strapped for time, then I recommend reading Parts 1 and 10, and leaving the rest for later.

The Wizengamot

Pharnabazus wrote some Notes on the Wizengamot as an appendix to their “How the Wizarding World Really Works” essay, described above. Highlights include the reapplication of Tolkien's description of the Shire as “half anarchy, half aristocracy,” in the sense that the Ministry does not quite hold a monopoly on violence, and the term “Tudorbethan.”

In the “brilliant difficulty” series by basketofnovas (slashmarks), the Wizengamot is composed of (1) the heads of (familial) Houses and (2) Ministry appointees. In 1995, there were twenty-two hereditary seats and twenty-eight appointed seats. Some party is responsible for “raising new families to Houses,” but the Ministry temporarily froze this process in 1979 and the Minister for Magic is capable of extending that freeze, for which reason there are twenty-eight appointed seats (there are typically only ten). Ministry appointees are selected by a rotation of Department Heads (four are noted as “nominated by MLE and therefore nominatively under Amelia's control”), but (as Ministry employees) can be fired by the Minister for Magic. The Minister for Magic is selected by a vote of the Department Heads (plus the Minister for Magic, if they are retiring rather than being forced from office), from whom there must be at least five out of seven (or six out of eight, in the case of retirement) in agreement. The Wizengamot may remove a Minister for Magic with a majority of thirty votes out of fifty. If the Minister for Magic is removed without being replaced then he remains until he can be replaced, and holds restricted powers. The factions are describable (in 1995) as liberal-progressive, liberal-traditional, traditional-conservative, and radical-conservative (“also referred to as followers of Voldemort”),

In Taure's “Canon Plus” (not a story, but a setting document), the Wizengamot selects its own members, so there's a bit of a “dead hand” effect in place. It isn't technically hereditary, but a large enough bloc of members that are willing to scratch each other's backs could introduce de facto inheritance by voting to invite each other's heirs (or so I think; Taure hasn't said one way or another). Customarily, they invite wixes that have “notable achievements to their name, either in terms of magical skill or service to society,” and only elderly or (rarely) middle-aged wixes are invited. It is Britain's legislature and highest court, but delegates some power to the Ministry.

Particular Laws

In the U.K., legislation will usually have two titles: long and short.

The long title is the formal name of the legislation, and will be displayed at the head of the statute. Its primary use is to summarize the purpose and scope of the legislation. Because the legislation cannot be amended to violate or go beyond the boundaries set out in its long title, it is fairly common for modern titles to end with, "and for connected purposes." The long title may also be called a "rubric," because it was printed in red.

The short title is given for the purpose of convenience, and carries no authority. The formula is typically "[Name] Act [Year]." Some legislation may be described as a code, charter, etc. rather than an act.

The Witchcraft Acts

• Witchcraft Act 1541, defined witchcraft as a felony punishable by death and the forfeiture of goods and chattels, and denied the benefit of clergy to those convicted of witchcraft, preventing them from resorting to the ecclesiastical court in future prosecutions. In particular, it forbade invocations or conjurations with the intent to find money or treasure, to waste, consume, or destroy any person or any part of their body, to provoke any person to engage in “unlawful love” or to perform any other unlawful act, or to damage or destroy a cross.
• Witchcraft Act 1562, overrode the previous act with the effect that the death penalty applied only in cases where harm was caused, and punished lesser offenses with imprisonment. In particular, the death penalty was applied to those who “killed or destroyed” through the use of witchcraft.
• Scottish Witchcraft Act 1563, criminalized not only witchcraft but also the consultation of a witch.
• Irish Witchcraft Act 1586, similar to the Witchcraft Act 1562 except that those who inflicted injury or caused material loss were imprisoned for a year upon the first offense and executed on the second; and those that used witchcraft to discover hidden treasure or stolen goods, or to provoke “unlawful love,” were imprisoned for a year on the first offense and for life upon the second.
• Witchcraft Act 1603, extended the death penalty to anyone who invoked evil spirits or communed with familiar spirits. Minor offenses were punished by one year's imprisonment on the first conviction and by execution on the second.
• Scottish Witchcraft Act 1649, reaffirmed the Scottish Witchcraft Act 1563 and extended the death penalty to anyone who consulted with devils and familiar spirits.
• Witchcraft Act 1735, denied the existence of witchcraft and instead criminalized anyone who would “pretend to exercise or use” witchcraft, sorcery, etc., punishing only with fines and imprisonment. Notably introduced to Parliament by John Conduitt, who was married to the niece of Isaac Newton.

British Ministerial Legislation

Canonical Legislation

1631

• Code of Wand Use, Clause Three: States that “No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand.”

1638

• Werewolf Code of Conduct: Outlines the responsibilities of werewolves (e.g. preventing possibly attacks by securely locking themselves up each month).

Circa 1914-1918

• Unnamed “emergency legislation” by the Ministry of Magic forbade wixes from getting involved in the First World War for the sake of avoiding a breach of the Statute of Secrecy. It was widely ignored.

1924

• Ministerial Management of Magical Mayhem Act No. 792/B: Content unknown, but the Education Decrees passed in 1995-96 referred to this law.

1991, prior to

• Ministry Ordination 297b prohibited the facilitation of trafficking magical creatures.
• Unnamed legislation regarding animal cruelty, which outlawed violence against various animals. Sub-sections 13 to 29 of this legislation related to potion ingredients, the production thereof, and the practice of charms. This legislation was responsibility for the unpopularity of toads as pets at Hogwarts.

1994, prior to

• Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-wizard Part-humans: Paragraph twelve presumably prohibits the wanton murder of vampires.
• Unnamed legislation establishing a Registry of Proscribed Charmable Objects, which covers items that wixes are forbidden to modify with magic, such as carpets (thus prohibiting the import of flying carpets).

1995, prior to

• Law 15B, or Fifteen “B,” states that “any attack by a magical creature who is deemed to have near-human intelligence, and therefore considered responsible for its actions—” Umbridge was unable to say anything further, but presumably they wouldn't be given a ticker-tape parade. Passed by the Dpt for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
• Magical Regulation 572 states that the only ink to be used in examinations (e.g. O.W.L.s) was Azul Marino ink.
• Wizengamot Charter of Rights: Compiled a list of rights of the accused, the interrogator, and the Wizengamot as a whole. One such right was that “the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case.” The Charter may also govern the use of Veritaserum.
• Unnamed legislation making it possible for Ministry officials to tag, intercept, and read letters from mail-carrying owls.

1996, prior to

• Unnamed guidelines on house-elf welfare, undescribed and unenforced at this time.

1997, prior to

• Decree for Justifiable Confiscation: Grants the Ministry the right to confiscate the contents of a will if there is strong evidence that illegal items may be passed on, in order to prevent wixes from passing on Dark artifacts. The Ministry may inspect the deceased's possessions for up to thirty-one days, at which point the will must be carried out.
• Unnamed legislation regarding the licenses for trading in magical artifacts. Failure to produce this license can result in a fine.

Non-canonical Legislation

In the brilliant difficulty series by slashmarks, only the direct relatives of a witch or wizard are legally allowed to know about magic. Even after marrying a Muggle, “it’s still technically illegal to tell them about magic at least until you have children, it’s just impossible to prosecute everyone. [...] So they prosecute people who are too politically pushy, or in the way.” Among other things, slashmarks points to how Dudley and Harry’s family relationship was never brought up as a defense for casting the Patronus Charm in front of a Muggle.