[Ministry of Magic internal memo, released to all relevant offices without restriction. The 1947 Polity Statute defines MoM jurisdictional powers over all British wizardry, including international holdings; paragraph 17 of the Statute defines educational exemptions, included the oft-cited 17b. ‘Hogwarts’ exemption. The introduced amendment, first discussed in the spring of 1992, proposed increased autonomy to certain well-established wizarding communities.]
Statement from the office of Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, regarding the proposed Amendment IV to the 1947 Magical Polity Statute.
The office of the Minister for Magic, in conjunction with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement under the leadership of Department Head Amelia Bones, today proposes, pending two-thirds approval of the Wizengamot, Amendment IV to the Magical Polity Statute of 1947. The amendment would grant, in special circumstances, greater autonomy to independent law-enforcement bodies within specific polities while simultaneously reducing the capacity for direct intervention from Ministry departments, including but not limited to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
The Minister’s office believes this amendment to be a positive improvement to the Ministry’s twentieth-century structures for upholding wizarding law. Support for the amendment comes at a time when British magical crime is at an all-time low. Less than five cases regarding use of an ‘Unforgiveable Curse’ have been heard by the Wizengamot in the past five years. In 1992 that same Wizengamot heard a record low 37 cases, only 16 of which resulted in guilty verdicts. 72% of Azkaban cells are currently occupied by wizards who were detained prior to 1990; only two are held by wizards detained in 1992. These astounding statistics must be attributed both to the brave work of our Auror Office under the esteemed leadership of Rufus Scrimgeour and to the consistent policy of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; but we must also acknowledge the astute vigilance of ordinary British wizardry and the leadership and protocols of our long-established magical polities.
The Amendment would grant special privileges to the following wizarding polities: Hogsmeade Village, Moray; Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon; Tinworth, Cornwall; Upper Flagley, Yorkshire; Godric’s Hollow, Somerset; Mould-on-the-Wold, Dorset; Eday, Orkney Islands; Gibraltar. Proposals for responsibilities of the Ministry and the roles of local law enforcement, both charged to uphold magical law as defined by the statutes of the Ministry of Magic, are laid out in the proposed amendment draft, available from the Minister’s office on request. The Amendment would also grant total autonomy to the wizarding communities of the Gambia, Gabon, and Sierra Leone.
It must be stated that this amendment is not a reduction of Minsitry authority, or a release of these communities from the statutes of magical common law. Rather, the Amendment is a call for the isolated wizarding communities of the British Empire to rise up in their duties to protect and honour British citizenry, both magical and non-magical alike.
The Amendment will be brought to the Wizengamot for vote on 10 August 1992. If approved it will go into effect 1 September 1992.
THE PENSIEVE PAPERS 