The Trading with the Enemy Act 1939 (
2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 89) is 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 ...
which makes it a criminal offence to conduct
trade with the enemy in wartime, with a penalty of up to seven years' imprisonment. The bill passed rapidly through Parliament in just two days, from 3 to 5 September 1939, and the Act was passed on 5 September 1939, at the beginning of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It is still in force.
The act's provisions about the custody of enemy property were inspiration for the Israeli
Absentee Property Regulations and other laws passed in 1948 about the use of the Palestinians' properties by the state of Israel. However, the 1939 act said that enemy property was only being confiscated "
/nowiki>ith a view to preventing the payment of money to enemies and of preserving enemy property in contemplation of arrangements to be made at the conclusion of peace..."[Section 7(1) of the act.]
See also
* Trading with the Enemy Act
Trading with the Enemy Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to trading with the enemy.
''Trading with the Enemy Acts'' is also a generic name for a class of legislation generally pas ...
* Trading with the Enemy Act 1914
The Trading with the Enemy Act 1914 ( 4 & 5 Geo. 5. c. 87) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prescribed an offence of conducting business with any person of "enemy character". It was enacted soon after the United Kingdom ...
* ''''
References
External links
*
Hansard
House of Lords 1st and 2nd readings
3 September 1939
House of Commons 1st reading
3 September 1939
House of Commons 2nd reading
4 September 1939
House of Commons committee stage and 3rd reading
5 September 1939
House of Lords 3rd reading
5 September 1939
Royal assent reported in House of Lords
5 September 1939
Royal assent reported in House of Commons
5 September 1939
{{UK legislation
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1939
English criminal law
United Kingdom in World War II
Emergency laws in the United Kingdom
World War II legislation