In English history, the penal laws were a series of laws that sought to enforce the State-decreed religious monopoly of the Church of England and, following the 1688 revolution, of Presbyterianism in Scotland, against the continued existence of illegal and underground communities of Catholics, nonjuring Anglicans, and Protestant nonconformists. The Penal laws also imposed various forfeitures, civil penalties, and civil disabilities upon recusants from mandatory attendance at weekly Sunday services of the Established Church. The penal laws in general were repealed in the early 19th-century due to the successful activism of Daniel O'Connell for Catholic Emancipation. Penal actions are civil in nature and were not English common law.
Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; committing adultery with the sovereign's consort, with the sovereign's eldest unmarried daughter, or with the wife of the heir to the throne; levying war against the sovereign and adhering to the sovereign's enemies, giving them aid or comfort; and attempting to undermine the lawfully established line of succession. Several other crimes have historically been categorised as high treason, including counterfeiting money and being a Catholic priest.
Petty treason or petit treason was an offence under the common law of England in which a person killed or otherwise violated the authority of a social superior, other than the king. In England and Wales, petty treason ceased to be a distinct offence from murder by virtue of the Offences against the Person Act 1828. It was abolished in Ireland in 1829. It never existed in Scotland. It has also been abolished in other common-law countries.
The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England wherethrough, according to William Blackstone, common law treason offences were enumerated and no new offences were, by statute, created. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to Ireland in 1495 and to Scotland in 1708. The Act was passed at Westminster in the Hilary term of 1351, in the 25th year of the reign of Edward III and was entitled "A Declaration which Offences shall be adjudged Treason". It was passed to clarify precisely what was treason, as the definition under common law had been expanded rapidly by the courts until its scope was controversially wide. The Act was last used to prosecute William Joyce in 1945 for collaborating with Germany in World War II.
The Sedition Act 1661 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 continue to survive today in the Treason Act 1695 and the Treason Felony Act 1848. One clause which was included in the Treason Act 1695 was later adapted for the United States Constitution.
Treason Act or Treasons Act or Statute of Treasons is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland on the subject of treason and related offences.
Attainder of Duke of Northumberland and others Act 1553 is an Act of the Parliament of England which confirmed the attainders for High Treason against John Duke of Northumberland, Thomas Cranmer the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Marquess of Northampton, John Earl of Warwick, Sir Ambrose Dudley, Sir Andrew Dudley, Sir John Gates, and Sir Thomas Palmer.
The Treason Act 1708 is an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which harmonised the law of high treason between the former kingdoms of England and Scotland following their union as Great Britain in 1707.
The Treason Act 1551 was an Act of the Parliament of England.
The Treason Act 1553 was an Act of the Parliament of England.
The Treason Act 1554 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is not to be confused with two other Acts about treason passed in the same year, 1 & 2 Ph. & M. cc. 9 and 11.
The Treason Act 1547 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is mainly notable for being the first instance of the rule that two witnesses are needed to prove a charge of treason, a rule which still exists today in the United States Constitution.
The Treason Act 1535 or Forging the Sign-manual, etc. Act 1535 was an Act passed by the English Parliament during the reign of King Henry VIII of England in 1535.
The Treason Act 1415 was an Act of the Parliament of England which made clipping coins high treason, punishable by death. The act was repealed by the Treason Act 1553, and then revived again in 1562. The act originally only protected English coins, but was later extended in 1575 to cover foreign coins "current" within England. By this time the Coin Act 1572 had already made it misprision of treason to clip foreign coins not current within the Realm.
The Treasons Act 1649 or Act declaring what offences shall be adjudged Treason was passed on 17 July 1649 by the Rump Parliament during the Commonwealth of England. It superseded the Act declaring what offences shall be adjudged Treason passed about two months earlier on 14 May 1649.
The Coin Act 1696 was an Act of the Parliament of England which made it high treason to make or possess equipment useful for counterfeiting coins. Its title was "An Act for the better preventing the counterfeiting the current Coin of this Kingdom." It was extended to cover Scotland by the Treason Act 1708.
The Coin Act 1732 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which made it high treason to counterfeit gold coins. Its title was "An Act to prevent the coining or counterfeiting any of the gold coins commonly called Broad Pieces".
The Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which made it high treason to counterfeit silver, copper or brass coins, where previously the crime of counterfeiting such coins had been a misdemeanour. Its long title was An act for the more effectual preventing the counterfeiting of the current coin of this kingdom, and the uttering or paying of false or counterfeit coin. It has since been repealed.
The Riot Act 1549 was an act of the Parliament of England. It made it high treason for 12 people or more to assemble and attempt to kill or imprison any member of the King's council or change the laws, and refuse to disperse when ordered to do so by a justice of the peace, mayor or sheriff.
The Counterfeiting Coin Act 1797 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which made it high treason to counterfeit copper coins. The Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741 had already made it treason to counterfeit some copper coins, namely halfpennies and farthings, but counterfeiting other copper coins was only a misdemeanour. On 19 July 1797 Parliament extended the scope of that Act to cover all coins made of copper. The Acts are now repealed.
