Act of Parliament | |
Long title | An Acte for the punyshment of diverse Treasons. [2] |
---|---|
Citation | 5 & 6 Edw. 6. c. 11 |
Territorial extent | England and Wales |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 15 April 1552 |
Other legislation | |
Amended by | |
Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1948 |
Relates to | Treasons Act 1534 |
Status: Repealed |
The Treason Act 1551 (5 & 6 Edw. 6. c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of England.
The Act was described as "purely procedural" by the House of Lords in R v Joyce, [3] but in fact extended the definition of high treason. It became treason to seize one of the King's forts and then not surrender it within six days of being ordered to. This form of treason had originally been enacted in the Treasons Act 1534 and then abolished by the Treason Act 1547. It was soon abolished again by the Treason Act 1553, but would be restored again by the Rebellion Act 1572 (this time without the 6 day deadline).
It was also made treason to say that the king was a heretic or usurper, in writing or (for the third offence only) in speech.
The Act re-enacted some existing procedural rules in prosecutions for treason and misprision of treason. However the Act amended procedure by stating that a person accused of committing treason only by "open preaching or words" must be prosecuted within three months of the offence, instead of the 30-day limit previously established by the Treason Act 1547.
The Act also prohibited the widow of a man convicted of treason from claiming her dower. [4]
The new kinds of treason created by this act were abolished by the Treason Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 1. c. 1). The act has since been repealed.
Sections 1 to 3 and 7 to 9 of the act were repealed on 28 July 1863 by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.
Section 11 of the act was repealed on 1 January 1926 by section 56 of, and part I of the second schedule to, the Administration of Estates Act 1925.
Section 20(3) of, and the fourth schedule to, the Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 63) made the following repeals on 1 January 1939: section 5; in section 4, the words from "and that all processes of outlawry" to the end; in section 6, the words "or process of outlawry".
Section 4 of the act was repealed on 15 June 1945 by section 2(1) of, and the schedule to, the Treason Act 1945.
The preamble and sections 6 and 10 of this act were repealed on 30 July 1948 by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.
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.
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