The Habeas Corpus Act 1640 (16 Car 1 c 10) was an Act of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. The Act was passed by the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In Septem ...

shortly after the impeachment and execution of

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...

in 1641 and before the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. It abolished the Star Chamber. It also declared that anyone imprisoned by order of the king, privy council, or any councillor could apply for a writ of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

, required that all returns to the writ "certify the true cause" of imprisonment, and clarified that the

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

also had jurisdiction to issue the writ in such cases (prior to which it was argued that only the King's Bench could issue the writ). The writ was amended by the

Habeas Corpus Act 1679 The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of Parliament in England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) during the reign of King Charles II. It was passed by what became known as the Habeas Corpus Parliament to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of '' ...

. The words of commencement were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. The whole Act, so far as not otherwise repealed, was repealed in England by section 8(2) of, and Part I of Schedule 5 to, the

Justices of the Peace Act 1968 A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility a ...

. The whole Act remains good law in Victoria and South Australia.

Preamble

In the preamble, the words from "and by another Statute made in the six and thirtieth" to "inrolled in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

e" were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

Section 2

This section, from "be it" to "enacted" was repealed in England by section 1 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 4

This section, from "be it" to "enacted" was repealed in England by section 1 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 6

"Every person committed contrary to this Act shall have an habeas corpus for the ordinary fees.-And ... if any person shall hereafter be committed restrained of his libertie or suffer imprisonment [by the order or decree of any such Court of Star Chamber or other court aforesaid now or at any time hereafter having or pretending to have the same or like jurisdiction power or authoritie to commit or imprison as aforesaid or by the command or warrant of the Kings Majestie his heires or successors jn theire owne person or by the command or warrant of the councell board or of any of the lords or others of his Majesties privy councelll] that in every such case every person so committed restrained of his libertie or suffering imprisonment upon demand or motion made by his councell or other imployed by him for that purpose unto the judges of the Court of Kings Bench or Common Pleas in open court shall without delay upon any pretence whatsoever for the ordinary fees usually paid for the same have forthwith granted unto him a writ of habeas corpus to be directed generally unto all and every sheriffs gaoler minister officer or other person in whose custody the party committed or restrained shall be nd the sheriffs gaoler minister officer or other pson in whose custody the pty so committed or restrained shall be 2shall at the return of the said writ & according to the command thereof upon due and convenient notice thereof given unto him [at the charge of the party who requireth or procureth such writ and upon securitie by his owne bond given to pay the charge of carrying back the prisoner if he shall be remanded by the court to which he shall be brought as in like cases bath beene used such charges of bringing up and carrying backe the prisoner to be alwaies ordered by the court if any difference shall arise thereabout 1] bring or cause to be brought the body of the said party so committed or restrained unto and before the judges or justices of the said court from whence the same writ shall issue in open court and shall then likewise certifie the true cause of such his detainor or imprisonment and thereupon the court within three court dayes after such return made and delivered in open court shall proceed to examine and determine whether the cause of such commitment appearing upon the said return be just and legall or not and shall thereupon do what to justice shall appertainc either by delivering bailing or remanding the prisoner and if any thing shall be otherwise wilfully done or omitted to be done by any judge justice oflicer or other person aforementioned contrary to the direction and true meaning hel'cof that then such person so offending shall forfeit to the party grieved his trebble damages to be recovered by such meancs and in such manner as is formerly in this Act limited and appointed for the like penaltie to be sued for and recovered." This section, from "be it" to "enacted that" was repealed in England by section 1 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888. This section was repealed in England by section 8(2) of, and Part II of Schedule 5 to, the

. Section 6 remains good law in South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Section 7

In this section, the words "and be it enacted" were repealed in England by section 1 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

Section 8

This section, from "lastly" to "enacted that" was repealed in England by section 1 of, and Part I of the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1888.

References

*'Charles I, 1640: An Act for [the Regulating the Privie Councell and for taking away the Court commonly called the Star Chamber.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 110–12. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47221. Retrieved 6 March 2007. *Halsbury's Statutes {{UK legislation 1641 in law 1641 in England Acts of the Parliament of England Habeas corpus