Department of International Magical Co-operation

• Type: Ministry of Magic Department
• Location: Level Five, Ministry of Magic Headquarters, London, Great Britain
• Head of Department: Barty Crouch Sr. (former)
• Key Features: Responsible for diplomatic relations with foreign magical governments, setting international standards, and organising global wizarding events.

The Department of International Magical Co-operation is one of the primary departments within the British Ministry of Magic. It is located on the fifth level of the Ministry's headquarters, a floor it shares with the Department of Magical Games and Sports. The corridors on this level are described as untidy, with many doors askew and mismatched name plaques. The department's core function is to manage the British wizarding community's relationship with magical communities abroad. This involves a wide range of responsibilities, from high-level diplomacy and treaty negotiation to the more mundane task of standardising trade goods. For many years, the department was headed by the famously diligent and multilingual Barty Crouch Sr., who could speak over two hundred languages. Under Crouch's leadership, the department was known for its strict adherence to protocol. His assistant, Percy Weasley, was tasked with duties that reflected the department's scope, such as writing a lengthy and detailed report on standardising cauldron bottom thickness, a project his boss deemed “stunningly boring” but important for international trade.

The Department of International Magical Co-operation is central to the events of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It was the primary organiser of the revived Triwizard Tournament, an event that required extensive co-operation with the French and Bulgarian Ministries of Magic, as well as Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute. During the planning and execution of the tournament, the department's head, Barty Crouch Sr., was secretly being held under the Imperius Curse by Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew. This allowed his son, Barty Crouch Jr., to escape from Azkaban and, using Polyjuice Potion to impersonate Alastor Moody, infiltrate Hogwarts. Crouch Sr.'s erratic behaviour—communicating via owl post, sending Percy Weasley to judge events in his place, and his eventual murder near the Forbidden Forest—was a direct result of this manipulation. The department's authority and involvement in the tournament provided the perfect cover for Voldemort's plan to capture Harry Potter. The department was also involved in organising the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, working alongside the Department of Magical Games and Sports to manage the logistics of such a massive international gathering.

The Department of International Magical Co-operation is comprised of several smaller offices and bodies, each with a specific focus:

• International Magical Trading Standards Body: This office deals with the regulation of magical goods and products that are traded between countries. It was for this body that Percy Weasley drafted his report on cauldron thickness.
• International Magical Office of Law: This office is responsible for handling matters of international magical law, likely working to create and enforce treaties and legal agreements between different magical governments.
• International Confederation of Wizards, British Seats: This serves as the British delegation's headquarters for the International Confederation of Wizards, the wizarding world's equivalent of the United Nations. It manages Britain's participation and representation within this global organisation.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the bureaucratic role of the department is significantly downplayed. The focus is placed more on Barty Crouch Sr. as a character and a high-ranking Ministry official, rather than on the specific functions of his department.
• The existence of this department illustrates the complex and often bureaucratic nature of the wizarding world, showing that it has a structured political system comparable to that of the Muggle world.