The Treason Act 1746This

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster system, Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title an ...

was conferred by the

Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 14) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 10). This act was retained for the Republic of I ...

, section 1 and the first schedule. ( 20 Geo. 2. c. 30) 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 ...

. The

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

is "An Act for allowing Persons impeached of High Treason, whereby any Corruption of Blood may be made, or for Misprision of such Treason, to make their full Defence by

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

." The Act commenced on 1 June 1747. It entitled anyone

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

by 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 a charge of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

or misprision of treason to be defended by up to two "council learned in the law". It was repealed on 1 January 1968 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 ...

by the

Criminal Law Act 1967 The Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force. ...

. It was repealed for the rest of 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 ...

on 18 July 1973 by the

Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973 The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1973 (c. 39) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which implemented recommendations contained in the fourth report on statute law revision, by the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission. Thi ...

Other treason-related legislation in the same year

* The ( 20 Geo. 2. c. 41) stated that any traitor who had been convicted since 24 June 1745, or who had been attainted by statute before 24 June 1748, was to automatically forfeit all of their property to the Crown, without the need for any further legal procedure whatsoever. * A third act, the ( 20 Geo. 2. c. 46), made it a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

, punishable with death without

benefit of clergy In English law, the benefit of clergy ( Law Latin: ''privilegium clericale'') was originally a provision by which clergymen accused of a crime could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ec ...

, for anyone who had been

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

ed for treason and

transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she ...

to America to return to Great Britain or Ireland, or to go to the dominions of the French or Spanish kings. It was also felony for anyone else to aid and abet a pardoned traitor to commit the same offence, or to correspond with one. However an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...

had to be brought within two years.''Statutes at Large'', vol. XIX, Danby Pickering, Cambridge University Press, 1765.

Footnote

References

*''Statutes at Large,'' vol. XIX, Cambridge 1765. Great Britain Acts of Parliament 1746 Treason in the United Kingdom Repealed Great Britain Acts of Parliament {{Statute-stub

Other treason-related legislation in the same year

See also

Footnote

References