The Treason Felony Act 1848 ( 11 & 12 Vict. c. 12) is an act of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

. Parts of the act are still in force. It is a law which protects the King and

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

. The offences in the act were originally

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 ...

under the

Sedition Act 1661 The Sedition Act 1661 ( 13 Cha. 2 St. 1. c. 1) was an act of the Parliament of England, although it was extended to Scotland in 1708. Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions co ...

( 13 Cha. 2 St. 1. c. 1) (later the

Treason Act 1795 The Treason Act 1795 (sometimes also known as the Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act) () was one of the Two Acts introduced by the British government in the wake of the stoning of King George III on his way to open Parliament in 1795, the ...

( 36 Geo. 3. c. 7)), and consequently the penalty was death. However it was found that juries were often reluctant to convict people of capital crimes, and it was thought that the conviction rate might increase if the sentence was reduced to exile to the penal colonies in Australia (the penalty is now life imprisonment). Consequently, in 1848, three categories of treason (all derived from the 1795 Act) were reduced to

felonies 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 ...

. (This occurred during a period when the

death penalty in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used in Britain and Ireland from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and took ...

was being abolished for a great many offences.) The act does not prevent prosecutors from charging somebody with treason instead of treason felony if the same conduct amounts to both offences. It is treason felony to "

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

, imagine, invent, devise, or intend": * to deprive the Sovereign of his crown, * to levy war against the Sovereign, or * to "move or stir" any foreigner to invade the United Kingdom or any other country belonging to the Sovereign.

Punishment and procedure

Treason felony is an

indictable-only offence In many common law jurisdictions (e.g. England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore), an indictable offence is an offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing ...

. It is punishable with

imprisonment for life Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

or any shorter term. Despite the name, it is no longer a felony, as the distinction between felony and misdemeanour was abolished 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. ...

. In Northern Ireland, a person charged with treason felony may not be admitted to

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

except by order of the High Court or of the Secretary of State.

Scottish Parliament

Treason felony is a

reserved matter In the United Kingdom, devolved matters are the areas of public policy where the Parliament of the United Kingdom has devolved its legislative power to the national legislatures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while reserved matters ...

on which the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

cannot legislate.

Text

Section 3 of the act provides: The ellipses represent words that have subsequently been repealed. Section 10 of the Interpretation Act 1978 says that references to the Sovereign reigning at the time of the passing of the Treason Felony Act are to be construed as references to the Sovereign for the time being.

Repealed provisions

Penal transportation Penal transportation (or simply transportation) was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies bec ...

was abolished in 1868, leaving life imprisonment as the maximum sentence. Section 4 of the act contained strict rules about treason felony when committed only by speaking. A conviction required a confession in open court, or the evidence of two witnesses to prove the words spoken. Also a prosecution had to be brought within six days of the offence. Section 4 was repealed by the

Statute Law Revision Act 1891 A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

. Section 3 of the Regency Act 1910 (10 Edw. 7. & 1 Geo. 5. c. 26) prohibited anyone from marrying the Sovereign while he was under 18 without the Regent's permission, and stated that anyone who married or was concerned in a marriage in contravention of that section "shall be guilty of a felony under the Treason Felony Act, 1848." No regency occurred under the 1910 act, which has since been repealed.

In the 21st century

In 2001, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper mounted an unsuccessful legal challenge to the act in the High Court, alleging that the act "makes it a criminal offence, punishable by life imprisonment, to advocate abolition of the monarchy in print, even by peaceful means". They sought a declaration that the

Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the ...

had altered its meaning so that only violent conduct was criminal. The court held that this was a hypothetical question that did not deserve an answer, since ''The Guardian'' was not being prosecuted. The case eventually went to 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 appeal in 2003. In a unanimous judgement, the Lords agreed that the litigation was unnecessary; but the judges nevertheless agreed with

Lord Steyn Johan van Zyl Steyn, Baron Steyn, PC (15 August 1932 – 28 November 2017) was a South African-British judge, until September 2005 a Law Lord. He sat in the House of Lords as a crossbencher. Early life and education Steyn was born in Stelle ...

's view that

e part of section 3 of the 1848 Act which appears to criminalise the advocacy of republicanism is a relic of a bygone age and does not fit into the fabric of our modern legal system. The idea that section 3 could survive scrutiny under the Human Rights Act is unreal.

In December 2013, the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

said that Section 3 of the act, which had made it an offence punishable by life imprisonment to print, or otherwise "by any overt act or deed" to support the abolition of the monarchy or to "imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose" the monarch, had been repealed in early 2013, without publicity. However, the Government later stated that the announcement that it had been repealed was wrong, and that it was still on the statute book.

Relevant cases

*''R v. Mitchel'' (1848) 7 State Tr. N.S. 599 *''R v. Cuffey'' (1848) 7 State Tr. N.S. 467, 12 JP 648 *''R v. Meany'' (1867) 10 Cox CCbr>506
IR 1 CL 500 *''Mulcahy v. R'' (1868) LR 3 HL 306 *''R v. Davitt'' (1870) 11 Cox CC 676 *''R v. Deasy'' (1883) 15 Cox CC 334 The last reported case under the act in the United Kingdom was in 1883, although the act was used in Australia in 1916 to prosecute the "

Sydney Twelve The Sydney Twelve were members of the Industrial Workers of the World arrested on 23 September 1916 in Sydney, Australia, and charged with treason under the ''Crimes Act 1900'' (NSW) Treason-Felony. which incorporated the ''Treason Felony Act'' 1 ...

". In 1972 three

Irish republicans Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

Joseph Callinan, Louis Marcantonio and Thomas Quinn were initially charged with treason felony, although this was later dropped in favour of lesser charges of seditious utterances.

Parliamentary debates

Hansard (House of Commons)
10 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 20 - 59 (first reading)
Hansard (House of Commons)
10 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 74 - 135 (second reading)
Hansard (House of Commons)
11 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 153 - 175 (motion to go into committee)
Hansard (House of Commons)
12 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 223 - 259 (motion to go into committee)
Hansard (House of Commons)
14 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 341 - 379 (committee)
Hansard (House of Commons)
17 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 417 - 431 (report)
Hansard (House of Commons)
18 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 453 - 479 (third reading)
Hansard (House of Lords)
18 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 447 (first reading)
Hansard (House of Lords)
19 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 486 - 507 (second reading)
Hansard (House of Lords)
20 April 1848, vol. 98, col. 534 - 537 (third reading)
Hansard (House of Lords)
22 April 1848, vol. 98 (royal assent)

Notes

References

*Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th Edition, 2006 reissue, Volume 11(1), Paragraph 367

External links

* *
Lords halt challenge to treason law
- ''

'', Thursday 26 June 2003
House of Lords judgement
- UK Parliament website {{Young Ireland 1848 in British law United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1848 Republicanism in the United Kingdom English criminal law Treason in the United Kingdom Treason Acts Lèse-majesté