Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Act for the more effectual Trial and Punishment of High Treason and Misprision of High Treason, in the Highlands of Scotland; and for abrogating the Practice of taking down the Evidence in Writing in certain Criminal Prosecutions; and for making some further Regulations relating to Sheriffs Depute and Stewarts Depute, and their Substitutes; and for other Purposes therein mentioned |
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Citation | 21 Geo. 2. c. 19 |
Territorial extent | Scotland |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 13 May 1748 |
Commencement | 1 April 1748 |
Other legislation | |
Amended by | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
Treason Act 1760 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Citation | 33 Geo. 2. c. 26 |
The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 (21 Geo. 2. c. 19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain [n 1] which applied only to Scotland. It stated that anyone who was prosecuted on or after 1 April 1748 for treason or misprision of treason could be tried anywhere in Scotland if the crime had been committed in any of the shires of Dunbartain, Stirling, [2] Perth, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Inverness, Nairn, Cromarty, [3] Argyll, Forfarshire, Banff, [4] Sutherland, Caithness, Elgine, Ross, and Orkney. [5] Normally a crime had to be tried in the shire where it had been committed. The Act also said that in such a trial, the jurors could come from adjoining counties, instead of (as would otherwise be the case) the county where the trial was held. [6]
It also provided that His Majesty's Advocate could move the trial to the High Court of Justiciary, [7] and that peers had the right to be tried by their peers. [8] These provisions expired after seven years, [9] but were later revived again for another seven years in 1760 by another Act, 33 Geo. 2. c. 26. [10]
The act also began the process of grouping the smaller shires into a single sheriffdom, by creating shared sheriffdoms for: [11]
Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.
The Shires of Scotland, or Counties of Scotland, were historic subdivisions of Scotland.
Sutherland is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Viking era when the area was ruled by the Jarl of Orkney; although Sutherland includes some of the northernmost land on the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness.
The Act of Proscription, also called the Act of Proscription 1746 or the Disarming the Highlands, etc. Act 1745, was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, which came into effect in Scotland on 1 August 1746. It was part of a series of efforts to assimilate the Scottish Highlands, ending their ability to revolt, and the first of the "King's laws" that sought to crush the clan system in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745. These laws were finally repealed on 1 July 1782.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), in use between 1999 and 2011. It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it was one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Ross, Skye and Inverness West was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It was one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Ross-shire, or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enclaves or exclaves scattered throughout Ross-shire's territory. The mainland had a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth and a coast to the west onto the Minch. Ross-shire was named after and covered most of the ancient province of Ross, and also included the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The county town was Dingwall.
Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each.
The Treason (Ireland) Act 1821 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It extended most of the English Treason Act 1695 to Ireland. Previously the 1695 Act only applied to England and Scotland.
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Jurors (Scotland) Act 1745 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, passed during the Jacobite Rising of 1745. Its long title was "An Act for the more easy and speedy Trial of such Persons as have levied, or shall levy War against His Majesty; and for the better ascertaining the Qualifications of Jurors in Trials for High Treason or Misprision of Treason, in that Part of Great Britain called Scotland." It was one of the Juries (Scotland) Acts 1745 to 1869.
The Treason Outlawries (Scotland) Act 1748 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which applied only to Scotland. Its long title was "An Act to ascertain and establish the Method of Proceeding to and upon Outlawries for High Treason and Misprision of High Treason, in Scotland."
A sheriffdom is a judicial district of Scotland. Originally identical to the Shires of Scotland, from the eighteenth century many counties were grouped to form "sheriffdoms".
The Sheriff of Bute was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order on the Isle of Bute, Scotland and bringing criminals to justice.
The Sheriff of Roxburgh was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in that area of Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
The Militia (Scotland) Act 1802 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting the Militia, a locally raised force for home defence. It applied to Scotland while there were other acts of the same year applying to England and Wales, and to Ireland.
The Sheriff of Ross, Cromarty and Sutherland was historically responsible for enforcing law and order in Ross-shire, Cromartyshire and Sutherland in Scotland.
The Sheriff of Inverness was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order and bringing criminals to justice in Inverness, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the hereditary sheriffs were replaced by salaried sheriff-deputes, qualified advocates who were members of the Scottish Bar.
The Sheriff of Caithness was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Caithness, Scotland.