Treason Act 1351
United Kingdom legislation / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw. 3 Stat. 5. c. 2) 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.[1] It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended.[2][3] It was extended to Ireland in 1495[4] and to Scotland in 1708.[5] 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.
Long title | Declaration what Offences shall be adjudged Treason.[lower-alpha 2] |
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Citation | 25 Edw. 3 Stat. 5. c. 2 |
Status: Amended | |
Revised text of statute as amended |
The Act is still in force in the United Kingdom. It is also still in force in some former British colonies, including New South Wales.[6][7] Like other laws of the time, it was written in Norman French.
The Act is the origin of the definition of treason in the United States (in Article III of the Constitution). Joseph Story wrote in his Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States that:
they have adopted the very words of the Statute of Treason of Edward the Third; and thus by implication, in order to cut off at once all chances of arbitrary constructions, they have recognized the well-settled interpretation of these phrases in the administration of criminal law, which has prevailed for ages.[8]