The Forcible Entry Act 1381 (5 Ric 2 St 1 c 7) was an Act of the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On 1 ...

. It created a

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

offence of

forcible entry Forcible entry is "the unlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force or unlawful entry into or onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force". The term is also sometimes used for entry by military, pol ...

which superseded the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

offence. It is written in the

Anglo-Norman language Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) ( French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period. When ...

. The original text (reproduced here in Roman script, without most accents in the original) is sourced from ''The Statutes'', 1870 Revised Edition, Vol. I, p.227:

Et Auxint le Roi defende q nully desore face entree en aucunes tres & teñz sinoun en cas ou entree est done p la loy, & en cell cas nemye a forte main ne a multitude des gentz, einz tantsoulement en isible & aiseemane, et si nully desore face a contraire & ent soit convict duement soit puniz p emprisonment de son corps & dilloeqs reint a la voluntee le Roy.

It has been translated as follows:

And also the King defendeth, that none from henceforth make any entry into lands and tenements, but in case where entry is given by the law; and in such case not with strong hand, nor with multitude of people, but only in eaceableand easy manner. And if any man from henceforth do the contrary, and thereof be duly convict, he shall be punished by imprisonment of his body, and thereof ransomed at the King's will.

There were doubts about the interpretation of this Act. It was suggested that the words translated as "that none from henceforth make any entry into lands and tenements, but in case where entry is given by the law" should be construed as making any unauthorised entry an offence, even where peaceful. It appears that this was not the intention of those responsible for the Act, and the courts did not at any time construe it that way.

Republic of Ireland

This Act was applied to Ireland by

Poynings' Law Poynings' Law or the Statute of Drogheda may refer to the following acts of the Parliament of Ireland: * The acts of Poynings' Parliament, summoned to Drogheda in 1494–5 by Edward Poynings; or more specifically ** Poynings' Law (on certification ...

.This is asserted by the Second Schedule of the

Short Titles Act 1962 The Short Titles Act 1962 (No. 5) is an Act of the Oireachtas. It authorises the citation, by short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as we ...

. This Act was retained for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

b
section 2(2)(a)
of, an

of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007.

References

Halsbury's Statutes ''Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales'' (commonly referred to as ''Halsbury's Statutes'') provides updated texts of every Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Measure of the Welsh Assembly, or Church of England Measur ...

, Third Edition, volume 18, page 405

External links

List of legislative effects
from the

Irish Statute Book The Irish Statute Book, also known as the electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), is a database produced by the Office of the Attorney General of Ireland. It contains copies of Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments.

. Acts of the Parliament of England 1381 in England 1380s in law {{England-statute-stub

Republic of Ireland

See also

References

External links