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.
A nail, as a unit of cloth measurement, is generally a sixteenth of a yard or 21⁄4 inches (5.715 cm). The nail was apparently named after the practice of hammering brass nails into the counter at shops where cloth was sold. On the other hand, R D Connor, in The weights and measures of England states that the nail was the 16th part of a Roman foot, i.e., digitus or finger, although he provides no reference to support this. Zupko's A dictionary of weights and measures for the British Isles states that the nail was originally the distance from the thumbnail to the joint at the base of the thumb, or alternately, from the end of the middle finger to the second joint.
Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a proper authority.
The Treason Act 1695 is an Act of the Parliament of England which laid down rules of evidence and procedure in high treason trials. It was passed by the English Parliament but was extended to cover Scotland in 1708 and Ireland in 1821. Some of it is still in force today.
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 Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions continue to survive today in the Treason Act 1695 and the Treason Felony Act 1848.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.
The Egyptians Act 1530 was an Act of the Parliament of England in 1531 to expel the "outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians", meaning Roma. It was repealed by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856.
The act 7 Ric. 2. c. 5 (1383), sometimes called the Beggars Act 1383, the Vagrancy Act, or the Vagabonds Act 1383, was an act of the Parliament of England made at Westminster in 1383, after the Peasants' Revolt (1381).
The Recruiting Act 1703 was an Act of the Parliament of England, after the start of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe, with Queen Anne's War in America. It was long titled An Act for raising Recruits for the Land Forces, and Marines, and for dispensing with Part of the Act for the Encouragement and Increase of Shipping and Navigation, during the present War. With the pressures of war, the act provided for the forcible enlistment of able bodied men into the army and navy who did not have visible means of subsistence. It also established administration and regulations under the act within local jurisdictions and became effective for one year from 1 March 1703.
The Chester and Cheshire (Constituencies) Act 1542 is the act of Parliament allowing the county palatine of Cheshire in the Kingdom of England to be represented in the Parliament of England. The act was approved by royal assent of Henry VIII on 12 May 1543 and commenced into law on 1 October 1543. It was formally repealed by the Representation of the People Act 1948.
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.
The Religion Act 1580 or Recusancy Act 1680 was an act of the Parliament of England during the English Reformation.
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 Benefit of Clergy Act 1496, formally referred to as the Act 12 Hen. 7 c. 7, was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed during the reign of Henry VII of England. Its long title was "An Act to make some Offences Petty Treason." It abolished benefit of clergy for petty treason.
The Benefit of Clergy Act 1402 was an Act passed during the reign of Henry IV of England by the Parliament of England. It abolished compurgation for high treason and theft.
The Treason Act 1397 was an act of the Parliament of England. It was supplemented by six other acts. The seven Acts together dealt with high treason.
The Safe Conducts Act 1414 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It made it high treason to break a truce or promise of safe conduct by killing, robbing or "spoiling" the victim. Unusually, the "voluntary receipt" or "concealing" of people who had violated this Act was also stated to be treason.
The Statutes of the Realm is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
The Poisoning Act 1530 was an Act of the Parliament of England. Its long title was "An Act for Poisoning." It made it high treason to murder someone with poison, and instead of the usual punishment for treason it imposed death by boiling.
The Statute of Westminster of 1285, also known as the Statute of Westminster II or the Statute of Westminster the Second, like the Statute of Westminster 1275, is a code in itself, and contains the famous clause De donis conditionalibus, one of the fundamental institutes of the medieval land law of England.
The Treason (Ireland) Act 1854 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It extended part of the Treason Act 1708 to Ireland, specifically the rules about giving the defendant advance notice of the witnesses and jurors in his case. It was repealed as regards Northern Ireland by the Treason Act 1945, which abolished the unique procedural rules which applied in treason cases. As of 16 January 2020 it remains in force in the Republic of Ireland.
