The Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730 ( 4 Geo. 2 c. 26) was an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

which made English (instead of

Law French Law French () is an archaic language originally based on Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England from the 13th century. Its use continued for several centur ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

) the obligatory language for use in the courts of England and in the court of exchequer in Scotland. The Act followed a medieval law from 1362 (the Pleading in English Act 1362), which had made it permissible to debate cases in English, but all written records had continued to be in Latin. The 1730 Act was amended shortly later to extend it to the courts in Wales, and to exempt from its provisions the "court of the receipt of his Majesty's exchequer" in England. It never applied to cases heard overseas in the

court of admiralty Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, held in West R ...

. A similar act was passed on 22 November 1650 by the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament describes the members of the Long Parliament who remained in session after Colonel Thomas Pride, on 6 December 1648, commanded his soldiers to Pride's Purge, purge the House of Commons of those Members of Parliament, members ...

during the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...

: ''An Act for turning the Books of the Law and all Process and Proceedings in Courts of Justice into the English Tongue''. As with all purported Acts passed without royal assent during the republican period, it was declared void on the restoration of Charles II. The Act was introduced by the then

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, Lord King, and came into force on 25 March 1733. It was repealed by the

Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Act 1879 The Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict c 59) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a public general Act. The Bill for this Act was the Civil Procedure Acts Repeal Bill. This Act was repealed by section 1 of, ...

( 42 & 43 Vict. c. 59). Despite this repeal, in 2013 the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

held that the Act still applied in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, as the law of England: "The ''1731 Act'' was received into B.C. law and is in force in that province, pursuant to the requirements of s. 2 of the ''Law and Equity Act'' .."''Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie‑Britannique v. British Columbia'', 2013 SCC 42, 0132 SCR 774 The law in force in England as of November 19, 1858 was received in British Columbia, and, unless abrogated, remained in force. A similar Act was passed by the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

in 1737, the Administration of Justice (Language) Act (Ireland) 1737.

Notes

External links

Text of Act
Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1730 Language policy in the United Kingdom English law Acts of the Parliament of Great Britain concerning Scotland {{GB-statute-stub

See also

Notes

External links