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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2025
‘Institutional’ Profiles of International Law in the Harry Potter Saga and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The magical universe in which J. K. Rowling's novels are set, the Wizarding World, is full of references to magical law and the consequences of its violations.
The legal element represents a relevant aspect both in the Harry Potter saga and in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and contemplates a series of references to institutions of both the domestic and international legal systems, which the author exploits to define as realistically as possible the context in which the story is set.
The Wizarding World is built in a similar way to the real one: within it, for example, the reconstruction of the State apparatus is entirely defined, and the perception of the division of powers, at least of the executive and judicial ones, is widely visible.
The same happens for the structure of the international community, understood as a set of States that cooperate to achieve the global security of the Wizarding World. It is precisely on this last aspect that, in the following pages, we will focus our attention.
According to the narrative, in 1692, the representatives of the magical communities from all over the world met in France to approve, within the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), the International Statute for Magical Secrecy. This international treaty, a cornerstone of the magical world, sanctioned the obligation to hide it from non-wizards, the so-called ‘Muggles’, to prevent them from resuming the hunt for wizards and witches, with disastrous consequences.
The ICW is inspired by the General Assembly of the United Nations, albeit with some differences dictated by the need to make the narrative simpler and more effective: it is composed of representatives of the governments of all the magical communities of the world, has the task of maintaining peace and security in the magical world and is presided over by a Supreme Mugwump, who coordinates its work.
Interestingly, according to what was reported in the first draft of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, this International Magical Organization was initially supposed to take on the structure of a Federation. It was not a Confederation, as Rowling's original idea was to create a single magical State divided into regions with their central administration in the United Kingdom.
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