The Forfeiture Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict c 23) is a British

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

that abolished the automatic forfeiture of goods and land as a punishment for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

. It does not apply to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, which did not fully abolish forfeiture until th
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949
Prior to the Act being passed, a person convicted of treason or felony automatically and permanently forfeited all of his lands and possessions to the Crown. The old offence of ''

praemunire In English history, ''praemunire'' or ''praemunire facias'' () refers to a 14th-century law that prohibited the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, or any other foreign jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the suprem ...

'', which was also punished with forfeiture, was only a

misdemeanour A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

, and so the Act did not apply to it. Although the Act is mostly repealed today, section 2 remains in force and states that anyone convicted of treason shall be disqualified from holding public office, shall lose his right to vote in elections (except in elections to local authorities),Local Government (Members and Officers) Act (Northern Ireland) 1964, Schedule and lose his pension. (His pension can however be restored, in whole or in part, under section 70 of the Criminal Justice Act 1948.) Section 31 of the Forfeiture Act also abolished the final incarnation of the punishment of being

hanged, drawn and quartered To be hanged, drawn and quartered became a statutory penalty for men convicted of high treason in the Kingdom of England from 1352 under King Edward III (1327–1377), although similar rituals are recorded during the reign of King Henry III ...

, which had been law in various forms since ancient times.

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* * which supplements the Forfeiture Act. United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1870 English criminal law 1870 in England 1870 in Wales Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning England and Wales {{England-law-stub

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