19

There have been mentions of such crimes, however I do not recollect of any wizarding punishments for muggles who have done such things. There are cases of the other way around though, where wizards/witches are punished for committing crimes against muggles. So my questions are:

  1. Does the Ministry of Magic punish such muggle individuals?
  2. If not, how is justice served in cases muggle crimes against wizards/witches?
12
  • 1
    Witches and Wizards are normal people in a muggle world through muggle POV. So, muggles have their own muggle courts & Ministry of Muggles to take care of unlawful activities by muggles. Commented May 30, 2014 at 6:47
  • 3
    Actually Ariana Dumbledore's case pops to mind. The muggles who attacked her were not punished - were they? Her father set out to seek revenge - so I am guessing there was no intention of any 'official' action to be taken against the muggles.
    – mustard
    Commented May 30, 2014 at 6:50
  • 1
    If a muggle kills, or attempts to kill a wizard, isn't that a case for a muggle court? Commented May 30, 2014 at 7:13
  • 3
    Well if the event was LIFE THREATENING then the wizard would be able to use magic without breaching the statute of secrecy. Then the MoM Cleaners would be sent in to MiB memory flash everyone. I Think for any normal crime it would be a similar process to crimes IRL but the wizard would not seek for official help from muggle law enforcement perhaps they would contact the MoM I would imagine they have a Department to deal with these things. Commented May 30, 2014 at 8:41
  • 1
    @mustard I might be misremembering, but didn’t the family keep the attack secret to avoid undue attention on Ariana? They were worried that if somebody found out about her uncontrollable magic, she might get carted off to St. Mungo’s.
    – alexwlchan
    Commented May 30, 2014 at 12:15

1 Answer 1

4

A lot of people have mentioned Ariana's case as an example.
You must remember that her 'accident' happened ages ago. I think in the 90's, when Harry Potter books were set, the law system would have been greatly advanced. However I do believe that muggle crimes would be dealt with by muggle courts and wizarding world ones by the Wizengamot (at least in Britain).

You should also realize that this could vary from country to country even in the wizarding world where the law system could greatly differ from say Britain to Egypt.

There's also proof that wizards are involved in Muggle politics if and when needed (The Other Minister). So, I wouldn't be surprised if wizards are involved in Muggle courts but the other way round would be nearly impossible.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.