Treason Act 1554
Encyclopedia
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. c.9 and 11 (summarised below).
of the Act from "and also" were repealed on 30 July 1948 by the Statute Law Revision Act 1948
.
, who had married Queen Mary I
on 25 July 1554 and became co-monarch of England and Ireland. It became an offence to "compass or imagine to deprive the King's Majesty from the having with the Queen the style, honour and kingly name, or to destroy the King, or to levy war within this realm against the King or Queen," or to say that the King ought not to have his title. The penalty for a first offence was forfeiture of goods and "perpetual imprisonment." A second offence was high treason
. However to "compass or imagine the death of the King" or to remove him from government was high treason on a first offence.
The Act also declared that if Mary died and her heir was not yet 18 if male, or was under 15 and unmarried if female, then Philip would govern the realm until the heir to the throne came of age (or was married, if female). In that event, it would be treason to "compass, attempt, and go about to destroy the person of the King, or to remove his Highness from the government".
, "and not otherwise".
but not treason:
Section 11 created a new rule of evidence for cases of treason under this Act (but not other treasons). It required all of the witnesses against the defendant (or at least two of them) to attend court to give evidence against him in person, "if living and within the realm". (The rule did not apply if the defendant pleaded guilty.) Different versions of this two witnesses rule were adopted in the Sedition Act 1661, the Treason Act 1695
, and eventually in Article Three of the United States Constitution
. The rule was first enacted in the Treason Act 1547
.
Section 12 made similar provision to section 7.
were to be treated for aiding and abetting a crime for which the penalty depended on whether it was the defendant's first or second offence. An accessory was to receive the same penalty as the principal offender, regardless of whether the accessory had committed the offence before.
The whole Act was repealed by the Criminal Law Act 1967
.
.
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...
. It is not to be confused with two other Acts about treason passed in the same year, 1&2 Ph. & M. c.9 and 11 (summarised below).
Long title
The long title was "An Acte whereby certayne Offences bee made Treasons; and also for the Government of the Kinges and Quenes Majesties Issue." The words in the long titleLong title
The long title is the formal title appearing at the head of a statute or other legislative instrument...
of the Act from "and also" were repealed on 30 July 1948 by the Statute Law Revision Act 1948
Statute Law Revision Act 1948
The Statute Law Revision Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.Section 5 and Schedule 2 authorised the citation of 158 earlier Acts by short titles....
.
Section 1 to 6 - Protection of King Philip
The Act provided legal protection to King PhilipPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, who had married Queen Mary I
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
on 25 July 1554 and became co-monarch of England and Ireland. It became an offence to "compass or imagine to deprive the King's Majesty from the having with the Queen the style, honour and kingly name, or to destroy the King, or to levy war within this realm against the King or Queen," or to say that the King ought not to have his title. The penalty for a first offence was forfeiture of goods and "perpetual imprisonment." A second offence was high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. However to "compass or imagine the death of the King" or to remove him from government was high treason on a first offence.
The Act also declared that if Mary died and her heir was not yet 18 if male, or was under 15 and unmarried if female, then Philip would govern the realm until the heir to the throne came of age (or was married, if female). In that event, it would be treason to "compass, attempt, and go about to destroy the person of the King, or to remove his Highness from the government".
Section 7 - Procedure
Section 7 required trials for "any treason" (not just treason under this Act) to be conducted in accordance with the common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, "and not otherwise".
Section 8 - Misprision of treason
Section 8 provided that the concealment or keeping secret of treason constituted misprision of treasonMisprision of treason
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...
but not treason:
Sections 9 to 12 - Further procedure
Section 9 preserved privilege of peerage — the right of peers of the realm to be tried by their peers. Section 10 stipulated that offences against the Act which were committed "only by preaching or words" must be prosecuted within six months.Section 11 created a new rule of evidence for cases of treason under this Act (but not other treasons). It required all of the witnesses against the defendant (or at least two of them) to attend court to give evidence against him in person, "if living and within the realm". (The rule did not apply if the defendant pleaded guilty.) Different versions of this two witnesses rule were adopted in the Sedition Act 1661, the Treason Act 1695
Treason Act 1695
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...
, and eventually in Article Three of the United States Constitution
Article Three of the United States Constitution
Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the judicial branch of the federal government. The judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court of the United States and lower courts as created by Congress.-Section 1: Federal courts:...
. The rule was first enacted in the Treason Act 1547
Treason Act 1547
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.-Abolition of new offences:During the reign of...
.
Section 12 made similar provision to section 7.
Section 13 - Accessories
Section 13 provided the rule for how accessoriesAccessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
were to be treated for aiding and abetting a crime for which the penalty depended on whether it was the defendant's first or second offence. An accessory was to receive the same penalty as the principal offender, regardless of whether the accessory had committed the offence before.
Repeals
The Act, except sections 6 and 8, was repealed on 28 July 1863 by the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.The whole Act was repealed by 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...
.
Other treason legislation in 1554
Two other Acts concerning treason were passed in 1554: 1&2 Ph. & M. c. 9 and 1&2 Ph. & M. c.11. The first made it treason to "pray or desire that God will shorten the Queen's days." The second made it treason to import counterfeit coins, and returned the rules of evidence to what they had been before the Treason Act 1547Treason Act 1547
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.-Abolition of new offences:During the reign of...
.
External links
- The Treason Act 1554, Danby Pickering, The Statutes at LargeStatutes at LargeStatutes at Large is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions:-England and Great Britain:* The Statutes at Large:...
, 1763, vol. 6, pp. 53 – 55 (from Google Book SearchGoogle Book SearchGoogle Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical character recognition, and stored in its digital database. The service was formerly known as Google Print when it was introduced at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October...
)