Punishment of Offences Act
Encyclopedia
The Punishment of Offences Act (7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c 91) (1837) was an Act
of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
. It abolished the death penalty for a number of statutory offences and replaced it with transportation
for life.
The words "after the commencement of this Act" in the first place were repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No 2) Act 1890. The words "at the discretion of the court" and "or for any Term not less than fifteen years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years" in the second and third places were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1892.
So far as it related to offences under the Riot Act
, the Murder Act 1751
and section 4 of the Unlawful Oaths Act 1812, this section was repealed by section 10(2) of, and Part III of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Law Act 1967
.
It was repealed for Northern Ireland by section 15 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967.
The penalty was reduced to penal servitude for life by section 2 of the Penal Servitude Act 1857, and to imprisonment
for life by section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948
, of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949, and of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953. Section 1(1) of the 1949 Act was replaced by section 221(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.
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
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. It abolished the death penalty for a number of statutory offences and replaced it with transportation
Penal transportation
Transportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
for life.
Preamble
The preamble specified the following offences:- offences under sections 1 and 4 and 5 of the Riot ActRiot ActThe Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...
- offences under section 9 of the Murder Act 1751Murder Act 1751The Murder Act 1751 was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Provisions:The Murder Act included the provision "for better preventing the horrid crime of murder" "that some further terror and peculiar mark of infamy be added to the punishment", and that "in no case whatsoever...
- offences under section 10 of the Prisoners (Rescue) Act (Ireland) 1791
- offences under section 1 of the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797The Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed in the aftermath of the Spithead and Nore mutinies and aimed to prevent the seduction of sailors and soldiers to commit mutiny....
- offences under section 1 of the Incitement to Disaffection Act (Ireland) 1797Incitement to Disaffection Act (Ireland) 1797The Incitement to Disaffection Act 1797 was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Ireland. It made equivalent provision to the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 for Ireland....
- offences under section 1 and 4 of the Unlawful Oaths Act 1812
- offences under section 9 of the Slave Trade Act 1824Slave Trade Act 1824The Slave Trade Act 1824 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to "amend and consolidate the Laws relating to the Abolition of the Slave Trade."Section 9 of this Act created a death penalty...
Section 1
Immediately before its repeal this section read:The words "after the commencement of this Act" in the first place were repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No 2) Act 1890. The words "at the discretion of the court" and "or for any Term not less than fifteen years, or to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three years" in the second and third places were repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1892.
So far as it related to offences under the Riot Act
Riot Act
The Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...
, the Murder Act 1751
Murder Act 1751
The Murder Act 1751 was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Provisions:The Murder Act included the provision "for better preventing the horrid crime of murder" "that some further terror and peculiar mark of infamy be added to the punishment", and that "in no case whatsoever...
and section 4 of the Unlawful Oaths Act 1812, this section was repealed by section 10(2) of, and Part III of Schedule 3 to the Criminal Law Act 1967
Criminal Law Act 1967
The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, with some minor exceptions, it generally applies to only England and Wales. It made some major changes to English criminal law...
.
It was repealed for Northern Ireland by section 15 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Criminal Law Act (Northern Ireland) 1967.
The penalty was reduced to penal servitude for life by section 2 of the Penal Servitude Act 1857, and to imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
for life by section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1948
Criminal Justice Act 1948
The Criminal Justice Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has been described as "one of the most important measures relating to the reform of the criminal law and its administration." It abolished penal servitude, hard labour and prison divisions for England and Wales...
, of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949, and of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1953. Section 1(1) of the 1949 Act was replaced by section 221(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975.
Section 2 - Offences punishable by imprisonment
This section was repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No 2) Act 1893.Section 3 - Not to affect Powers of 5 & 6 W.4 c.38 and 4 G.4 c.64
This section was repealed by the Statute Law Revision (No 2) Act 1890.Section 4 - Repeal of 2 Jac. l c.31
This section was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1874.Section 5 - Commencement of act
This section was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1874.External links
- The Punishement of Offences Act, as amended from the National Archives
- The Punishment of Offences Act, as originally enacted from the National Archives (HTML)