Piracy Act 1698
Encyclopedia
The Piracy Act 1698 c.7 was an Act of Parliament
of the Parliament of England
passed in the eleventh year of William III
. The long title
of the Act is "An Act for the more effectuall Suppressions of Piracy".
It altered the Offences at Sea Act 1536, to say that "all piracies, felonies, and robberies committed in or upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place, where the admiral or admirals have power, authority, or jurisdiction, may be examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged, according to the directions of this Act, in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories, to be appointed for that purpose by the King’s commission or commissions under the great seal of England, or the seal of the admiralty of England, directed to all or any of the admirals, viceadmirals, reer-admirals, judges of vice-admiralties, or commanders of any of his majesty’s ships of war, and also to all or any such person or persons, officer or officers, by name, or for the time being, as his majesty shall think fit to appoint;" - in other words, pirates could be tried other than in England, due to the "great trouble and charges in sending them into England to be tried within the realm".
It also added the death penalty for subjects committing piracy or robbery upon other subjects whilst under the colours of a "foreign prince or state", or for being an accessory to piracy; and added some new offences including deserting a ship (forfeiture of all wages) and refusing to "bring home with him again all such of the men which he carried out with him" (three months imprisonment). The death penalty under this Act was abolished by the Piracy Act 1837
. It was finally repealed in the UK by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1993/Ukpga_19930050_en_3.htm, and in Australia by the Statute Law Amendment Act 2002 (No 2).
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of England
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
passed in the eleventh year of William III
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. The long title
Long title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
of the Act is "An Act for the more effectuall Suppressions of Piracy".
It altered the Offences at Sea Act 1536, to say that "all piracies, felonies, and robberies committed in or upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place, where the admiral or admirals have power, authority, or jurisdiction, may be examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged, according to the directions of this Act, in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories, to be appointed for that purpose by the King’s commission or commissions under the great seal of England, or the seal of the admiralty of England, directed to all or any of the admirals, viceadmirals, reer-admirals, judges of vice-admiralties, or commanders of any of his majesty’s ships of war, and also to all or any such person or persons, officer or officers, by name, or for the time being, as his majesty shall think fit to appoint;" - in other words, pirates could be tried other than in England, due to the "great trouble and charges in sending them into England to be tried within the realm".
It also added the death penalty for subjects committing piracy or robbery upon other subjects whilst under the colours of a "foreign prince or state", or for being an accessory to piracy; and added some new offences including deserting a ship (forfeiture of all wages) and refusing to "bring home with him again all such of the men which he carried out with him" (three months imprisonment). The death penalty under this Act was abolished by the Piracy Act 1837
Piracy Act 1837
The Piracy Act 1837 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It abolished the death penalty for most offences of piracy, but created a new offence often known as piracy with violence, which was punishable with death...
. It was finally repealed in the UK by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993.http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1993/Ukpga_19930050_en_3.htm, and in Australia by the Statute Law Amendment Act 2002 (No 2).
External links
- The Piracy Act 1698
- Official text of the statute as it stood within the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
before its repeal in 1993, from the UK Statute Law DatabaseUK Statute Law DatabaseThe UK Statute Law Database is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force as of 1991, and all primary and secondary legislation since that date; it does not include legislation which...