Treason Law Uk
The procedure in high treason trials is the same as in murder trials. [43] [44] [45] It is therefore a purely criminal offence. The last types of high treason defined by the Treason Act 1351 were forgery of the Great Seal or Privy Seal, forgery of English (later British) currency, and importation of currency known as counterfeiting. However, these crimes were reduced to crimes rather than treason in 1861[14] and 1832 respectively. [15] In Scotland, all crimes and offences that constitute treason are released on bail. [55] Richard Ekins, professor of law and constitutional government at St. John`s College, Oxford, co-author of the article, told Global Insight: «It has been recognized that there is a loophole in the law and that we need enforceable legislation. It`s not about demanding patriotism, it`s about the law that makes it clear that helping a group attack the country you`re a citizen of. Other common law jurisdictions such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand also have modern versions of treason laws. In England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, the previous defence of marital coercion of a wife accused of high treason was not available. [39] [40] At the center was the policy of treason. It was first codified into English law as the Treason Act of 1351 during the reign of King Edward III, distinguishing between high treason, which was against the crown, or petty treason, disloyalty to a subject. It clearly states that one is guilty if: The last time treason was used in Britain was the trial and subsequent hanging of Lord Haw Haw in 1946, following his activities in support of Nazi Germany during World War II.
More recently, in the 2000s and 2010s, there were attacks and attempted attacks in Britain by radical Islamic militant groups supported by individuals who are also British citizens. A number of British citizens have also travelled abroad to fight with non-governmental organisations such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), where these organisations are involved in conflicts with British forces abroad or planning attacks in the UK itself. Almost all treason-related offences introduced since the enactment of the Treason Act 1351 have been abolished or demoted to less serious offences. The Treason Act of 1351, on the other hand, has not been substantially amended; The main changes concern the elimination of counterfeits and counterfeits, as explained above. Information on the current status of the Act can be found in the section on offences above. Certain special rules apply in the past to cases of high treason. The privilege of the title of nobility and parliamentary privilege in many cases prevented the arrest of certain persons (including peers, wives and widows of peers and parliamentarians), but treason was not included (nor was crime or breach of the peace). Similarly, a person cannot claim sanctuary if he is accused of high treason; This distinction between treason and crime was lost when the sanctuary laws were repealed in the late 17th and early 19th centuries. Moreover, the defendant could not claim any advantage from the clergy in case of high treason; But also the benefit of the clergy was abolished in the 19th century.
British government ministers plan to extend the country`s treason laws to prosecute individuals who support a state or organization in the war against Britain. It is in this context that an article published in 2018 by the Policy Exchange think tank, in which two MPs, Tom Tugendhat and Khalid Mahmood, propose a new high treason law that would make aiding a state or organisation that attacks or prepares British or British forces in an armed conflict a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment. «Betraying one`s own country … is a terrible crime,» reads the newspaper entitled «Aid to the Enemy.» He argues that the conviction under existing terrorism laws is «manifestly inadequate» and that there are loopholes and loopholes in those laws that treason could fill. A second form of high treason, defined in the Treason Act of 1351, was sexual intercourse with «the king`s companion, or the king`s eldest daughter, who is not married, or the wife of the king`s eldest son and heir.» If the sexual intercourse is non-consensual, only the rapist is responsible, but if it is consensual, both parties are responsible. Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, wives of Henry VIII, were convicted of treason for this reason. The lawyer Sir William Blackstone wrote that «the obvious intention of this Act is to protect the Blood Royal from suspicion of bastards, thereby casting doubt on the succession of the Crown.» Thus, only women are covered by the statutes; For example, raping a queen`s husband is not high treason. Similarly, raping a widow of the sovereign or heir to the throne is not high treason.
The law originally provided that other forms of treason would not fall under the law, so it provided for this possibility. The words «et pr ceo q plusurs auts cases de similar treson» were translated as follows: The modernisation of the treason law was originally part of the UK government`s 2021 consultation on a new legal framework as part of its National Security Bill, which is currently before Parliament. The framework is a response to new threats from a number of «hostile states» and organizations, such as state-backed sabotage, the spread of disinformation, foreign interference in the political system, and cyber operations aimed at threatening the economy. Peers, their wives and widows had the right to be tried for treason and crime in the House of Lords or the Court of Lord High Steward, the former being used in all cases except when Parliament was not sitting.