The Ministry of Magic is meant to help control the wizard population, keep the peace, and basically ensure everything runs smoothly. But sometimes they simply make awful mistakes. You know what we’re talking about here; you’ve seen ample examples of their mistakes within the Harry Potter series.
Sometimes the Ministry simply makes a law that makes absolutely no sense. Or worse, they put a law into place that is actively harmful. We’ve seen both of these events happen over the course of seven novels, and there’s no doubt that they’ve made more mistakes than that. So with that in mind, here are the ten worst laws made by the Ministry of Magic.
Laws Against Muggle And Wizard Interactions and Relationships
There have been multiple attempts at creating stricter laws involving Muggles. Many a Minister for Magic has tried to outright ban the relationships and marriage between witches/wizards and Muggles. We’ve seen this happen in the Americas as well, though admittedly their stance was made stricter due to the Salem Witch Trials.
Ministers such as Perseus Parkinson are infamous for their tenure, thanks to their anti-Muggle laws — or, thankfully, their attempts at said anti-Muggle laws.
Elf Legislation
Any fan of the Harry Potter series knows how poorly House Elves are treated. But did you know that much of the treatment is reinforced by the laws established by the Ministry of Magic? The Ministry has always turned a blind eye to the treatment of magical creatures, especially when it benefits them to do so.
There exists a law known as Elf Legislation, which backs up and supports many of the laws about House Elves. This includes reinforcing their inability to use or carry a wand.
Code of Wand Use
Established in 1631, there is a law in the Ministry of Magic that prevents any creature other than a witch or wizard to hold a wand. That is to say, anything non-human is not allowed to own or use a wand, even if they would be fully capable of doing so.
This law took the separation between wizards and non-humans to new extremes, and further alienated and enraged many species, including goblins. And who can blame them for feeling singled out here?
The most notable example of this law happened during Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where Winky was caught holding Harry’s wand. This was considered enough to immediately prosecute her, had she belonged to anybody other than Barty Crouch.
The Distinction Between Beings, Has-Beens, and Creatures
In the magical world of Harry Potter, the Ministry of Magic has three distinct classifications to help define the laws and legal status of magical creatures and beings. These classifications are: Beings, Has-Beens (also known as Spirits), and Creatures (also known as Beasts).
Each of these three classifications has its own set of regulations and rights, which has been a significant bone of contention. Some of the reasoning behind what a species is classified as has been a bit…arbitrary at best, and intentionally discriminatory at worst.
Forced Muggle-Born Registration
During the events in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we saw a version of the Ministry of Magic that was well and truly corrupt. One of the many horrible things this Ministry did was create a new set of laws targeting Muggles and Muggle-born witches and wizards. Basically, they wanted to hit anybody that wasn’t a pure-blood.
The law required all Muggle-born wizards to register with the Ministry. Everyone else had to provide proof that they were, in fact, pure0bloods. All Muggle-borns were at risk of an interrogation, and even outright accusation of stealing magic and wands from “rightful” owners.
Werewolf Registration Act & Werewolf Code of Conduct
Thanks to the presence of Remus Lupin in the series, many fans already have a good idea of how horribly werewolves were treated by the Ministry of Magic. So it was never a surprise when many of them decided to band with the opposition.
The Werewolf Registration required that all wizards bitten by a werewolf must register themselves as such — even though it would result in a loss of rights and status for them. The Werewolf Code of Conduct might have had good intentions, but it also required a werewolf to out their status and face the consequences.
Umbridge is a known supporter of these laws and has in fact been seen trying to make them harsher for all werewolves during her time at the Ministry of Magic. And she was merely one of many who felt that way.
The Legalization of the Unforgivable Curses
Did you know that when Voldemort was at the height of his power, the Ministry of Magic took some drastic measures in order to try and counter his forces? One of those steps was done by Batty Crouch Senior. He believed in using violence to counter violence and thus made it legal for Aurors and the like to use the Unforgivable Curses.
That means that, theoretically, all they would have to do is suspect that a wizard was dark before using the Killing Curse to take them down. It’s a harsh take on the “act first, ask questions later” sort of regime.
Hogwarts High Inquisitor & Educational Decrees
It was probably fairly obvious that these items were going to make it somewhere on the list. Umbridge’s actions are infamous among Harry Potter fans, and the Ministry of Magic made it all perfectly legal.
They paved the way for her with their Educational Decrees, which they essentially let her create all on her own since she was doing their work for them. This culminated with Umbridge becoming Hogwarts High Inquisitor, followed by instating her as Hogwarts Headmistress. These rules allowed her to abuse her power and position in ways we had never seen at Hogwarts.
Lack of Due Process
You might have noticed that there seems to be a significant lack of due process within the world of Harry Potter. A dark witch or wizard might get brought in, and they might even face a trial, but there is no attempt made to teach them of their rights.
Just look at how Harry was treated during his trial — had the adults around him not grouped together to protect him, Harry would have faced a full trial with no representation or witnesses. The Ministry certainly never went out of their way to inform him of his rights.
The Creation of Azkaban
The creation of the infamous prison Azkaban may seem like an odd choice for number one. But think about it for a moment. The prison was essentially a death sentence, albeit a slow one. And it was run by creatures that the Ministry only thought they could control.
The entire premise of Azkaban is both flawed and dangerous. Not to mention painfully inhumane. And yet we know for a fact that at least two Ministers spent their tenure working on the creation of this prison.
