The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 31), also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act, was an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that consolidated for

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

provisions in the law related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of violence) from a number of earlier piecemeal statutes into a single act. Among the laws it replaced was clause XXVI of ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

'', the first time any part of ''Magna Carta'' was repealed, and the Buggery Act 1533 ( 25 Hen. 8. c. 6). The act also abolished the crime of petty treason. The act was one of Peel's Acts which consolidated, repealed and replaced a large number of existing statutes. Similar provision was made for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

by the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 ( 10 Geo. 4. c. 34) and for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by the

Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 The Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 74) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed criminal justice in India. The act repealed for India acts repealed for England and Wales in the Criminal Statutes Repeal ...

( 9 Geo. 4. c. 74).

Background

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book. In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825,

The Statutes of the Realm ''The Statutes of the Realm'' is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen A ...

was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done. In 1822, Sir Robert Peel entered the cabinet as

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

and in 1826 introduced a number of reforms to the English criminal law, which became known as Peel's Acts. This included efforts to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions from a large number of earlier statutes, including: * Benefit of clergy * Larceny and other offences of stealing * Burglary, robbery and threats for the purpose of robbery or of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

* Embezzlement, false pretences, and the receipt of stolen property * Malicious injuries to property * Remedies against the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

In 1827, several acts were passed for this purpose, territorially limited to

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, including: * Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 27), which repealed for

over 140 enactments relating to the

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

* Criminal Law Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 28), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. * Larceny Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 29), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to larceny. * Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 30), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious injuries to property.

Passage

In an address to Parliament titled ''State of the Common Law'' on 29 February 1828, the

, Sir Robert Peel stated that during his absence from office, work had been done to prepare reforms related to offences against the person, as part of broader ongoing efforts to reform and consolidate the

. The Offences against the Person Bill was presented by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne and had its first reading in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on 3 March 1828. The bill had its second reading in the

on 18 March 1828. In his speech introducing the bill, Lord Lansdowne, outlined several key changes to the law regarding offenses against the person to at modernise and clarifying existing laws while addressing gaps and inconsistencies in the current system, including: # Consolidating 56 existing enactments related to offenses against the person into a single comprehensive bill. # Reclassifying petty treason as murder, removing certain legal privileges for those accused of petty treason. # Expanding the definition of attempted murder to include methods beyond shooting, stabbing, or cutting, such as strangling and drowning. # Equalizing the punishment for procuring abortion, regardless of whether the woman was 'quick with child' or not. # Making the concealment of a bastard child a separate offense from murder. # Expanding the crime of abduction to cover females with any property interest, not just heiresses. # Giving judges discretionary power in sentencing for the offense of abandoning seamen on foreign shores. The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 28 March 1828 and reported with amendments on 3 April 1828. The amended bill had its third reading in the

on 15 April 1828, with amendments. Specifically, an amendment by Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, to retain the punishment of dissection for executed murderers, was accepted. The amended bill had its first reading in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

on 17 April 1828. The bill had its second reading in the

on 21 April 1828, introduced by the

, Sir Robert Peel . The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 5 May 1828, with amendments. The amended bill was considered by the

on 16 May 1828 and was re-committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 16 May 1828, with amendments. The re-amended bill was considered by the

and was re-committed to a committee of the whole house on 23 May 1828 which met on 23 May 1828 and reported on 30 May 1828, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the

on 6 June 1828. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the

on 19 June 1828, with further amendments. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the

on 25 June 1828. The bill was granted

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 27 June 1828.

Provisions

Section 1 of the act repealed acts from 1225 ( 9 Hen. 3. c. 26) to 1822 ( 3 Geo. 4. c. 114). Beside repealing, simplifying and consolidating the statute law, the act contained changes to the law. Section 2 of the act abolished the distinctive offence of petty treason, providing that petty treason should be treated as

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. Section 11 of the act extended the provisions in Lord Ellenborough's Act ( 43 Geo. 3. c. 58), removing the requirement that an offensive weapon must be used in the commission of a violent offense, so that murder by drowning, suffocation or strangulation were now considered just as serious as murder by shooting, stabbing or poisoning. For the first time, all acts of attempted murder were categorized and treated as equivalent crimes of violence by the degree of harm done to the victim, rather than by the narrower scope of whether a specific offensive weapon had been used. This consolidation put the focus on the unacceptability of the violence itself, and not just the real or potential physical injuries that resulted. Section 14 of the act made the concealment of the birth of a child a

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

, whether by a single or married woman. Section 15 of the act extended the crime of bestiality to "animals", not "beasts", therefore including birds or reptiles. Section 18 of the act removed the requirement for victims of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

to prove

ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. ...

. Section 19 of the act made the forcible abduction of women with intent to marry (as opposed to actual marriage) a felony and increased the penalty for abduction of a girl under 16 to such a fine or imprisonment as the Court shall award (as opposed to only two years or a fine under the Abduction Act 1557 ( 4 & 5 P. & M. c. 8) The act also made

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

a serious and more easily prosecutable crime. Prior to the act, society tolerated a degree of violence such as duelling, and what was considered to be the male right to physically discipline a spouse, children, and anyone of a lower social order, such as servants. Due to the costs of prosecution, which fell to the victim and could only be recouped on conviction, very few assault cases were brought to trial; they were usually seen as private matters to be resolved before, or mediated by a magistrate during, the process.

Legacy

Legal significance

The act has been described by historian as Gregory Smith as "the first truly comprehensive piece of legislation designed to address interpersonal violence in British society". The act was significant in categorising punishments for interpersonal violence by harm instead of means, for example in equating all acts of attempted murder. Under the Offences Against the Person act 1828, several sections pertained to the crime of rape. The penalty for being convicted of rape was still death, and remained so until 1841. The act also made it a felony punishable by death to carnally know a girl under the age of ten. Carnally knowing a girl over the age of ten and under the age of twelve was a

punishable with imprisonment with the option of hard labour for a term to be determined by the court. The act also affirmed that proof of penetration was sufficient to reach the conclusion that one person had had carnal knowledge of another; before the 1828 statute, victims of rape had to prove that the perpetrator ejaculated. Historian Anna Clark has argued that medical experts used ejaculation as proof of rape because it was tangible evidence that reduced the need for a victim's testimony. Clark also contends that requiring proof of ejaculation allowed judges and magistrates to ask victims humiliating and explicit questions. By changing the definition of carnal knowledge from ejaculation to proof of penetration, the 1828 act made it a little easier for victims to prosecute their rapists. Records show that from 1828 to 1841, 63 defendants accused of rape were tried at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. Of those 63 defendants, 16 were found guilty and 12 were sentenced to death. Three had their sentences reduced to imprisonment, and one had his judgment respited altogether. The act and its focus on interpersonal violence also had the effect of increasing formal accusations of domestic violence, by reducing the stigma surrounding such activity and diminishing judicial delays.

Subsequent developments

At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, Lord Cranworth announced his intention to the improvement of the statute law and in March 1853, appointed the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal expired statutes and continue consolidation, with a wider remit that included civil law. The Board issued three reports, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform. In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

. The Commission made four reports. Recommendations made by the Commission were implemented by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 ( 19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). On 17 February 1860, the Attorney General, Sir Richard Bethell told the

that he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time. In 1861, bills were introduced to consolidate and modernise the

, drafted by Charles Sprengel Greaves across: * Offences Against the Person * Malicious Injuries to Property * Larceny *

Forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...

* Coining * Accessories and Abettors In 1861, the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts were passed: * Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 94) * Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 95) * Larceny Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 96) * Malicious Damage Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 97) * Forgery Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 98) * Coinage Offences Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 99) * Offences Against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100)

Further repeals

The territorial extent of the act was limited to

. Section 1 of the Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 53) largely mirrored the act for

, including repealing acts extended to

by the passage of Poynings' Act 1495. Section 125 of the

( 9 Geo. 4. c. 74) repealed for

all the enactments listed in the act. A number of the act's provisions were repealed and replaced by the Offences Against the Person Act 1837 ( 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 85). The death penalty for shooting, stabbing, cutting or wounding with intent (s.12), and for post- quickening abortions (s.13) under this act was abolished by

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

of those sections by section 1 of the 1837 act (sections 12 and 13 of this act were replaced by sections 4 and 6 of the 1837 act, respectively). The death penalty for rape (s.16) and carnal knowledge of a girl under ten (s.17) was abolished by amendment of those sections by section 3 of the Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841 ( 4 & 5 Vict. c. 56). Section 18 made provision in relation to proof of carnal knowledge. The act was wholly replaced by the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 100). The act was repealed by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 95). The territorial terms of the act led to several acts being for the avoidance of doubt for

repealed by later Statute Law Revision Acts, including the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c. 101).

Repealed enactments

Section 1 of the act repealed 59 enactments listed in that section. The territorial extent of the repeal, to take effect on 1 July 1828, was limited to

and the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England. Section 1 of the act also stated that for offenses and other matters committed or done on or before 30 June 1828, the repealed acts will still apply as if the act had not been passed.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Robert Peel English criminal law Offences against the person United Kingdom abortion law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1828 Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament LGBTQ law in the United Kingdom Consolidation Acts