The legal term peace, sometimes king's peace (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''pax regis'')''Black's Law Dictionary'' (10th ed.: ed. Bryan A. Garner: Thomson Reuters, 2014), p. 1306. or queen's peace, is 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 ...

concept of the maintenance of public order.Markus Dirk Dubber, ''The Police Power: Patriarchy and the Foundations of American Government'' (Columbia University Press, 2005), pp. 15–16. The concept of the king's peace originated in

Anglo-Saxon law Anglo-Saxon law (Old English ''ǣ'', later ''lagu'' "law"; dōm "decree, judgment") is a body of written rules and customs that were in place during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, before the Norman conquest. This body of law, along with earl ...

, where it initially applied the special protections accorded to the households of the

English kings This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Kingdom of Wessex, Wessex, one of the heptarchy, seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled ...

and their retainers. A breach of the king's peace, which could be either a

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

or a

tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...

, was a serious matter. The concept of the king's peace expanded in the 10th and 11th centuries to accord the king's protection to particular times (such as holidays), places (such as highways and churches), and individuals (such as legates). By the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

, the notion of the king's peace became more general, referring to the safeguarding of public order more broadly. In subsequent centuries, those responsible for enforcing the king's peace (besides the king himself) included the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

and various local officials, including the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

. In modern Britain, the police services are responsible for keeping the peace, a duty distinct from their duty of

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

. The concept has remained relevant in

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

; in '' R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Northumbria Police Authority'' (1989), the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

for

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

held that the government could exercise

prerogative power The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in the ...

s to maintain the peace of the realm.

In English law

Development in common law

Anglo-Saxon origins

The notion of "king's peace" originates in

.Bruce R. O'Brien, ''God's Peace and King's Peace: The Laws of Edward the Confessor'', pp. 73–74. Historian Bruce R. O'Brien notes that the concept was "a vague statement of the

inviolability In religion and ethics, the inviolability of life, or sanctity of life, is a principle of implied protection regarding aspects of sentient life that are said to be holy, sacred, or otherwise of such value that they are not to be violated. This can ...

of the king or his palace" under the early

Maitland Maitland is an English and Scottish surname. It arrived in Britain after the Norman conquest of 1066. There are two theories about its source. It is either a nickname reference to "bad temper/disposition" (Old French, ''Maltalent''; Anglo Norm ...

and

Pollock Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. ''Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...

describe the origins of the concept of the king's peace as arising from (1) "the special sanctity of the king's house" (the royal household or

mund Mund is a former municipality in the district of Brig in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Mund and Birgisch merged into the municipality of Naters. Thus, Maitland and Pollock noted that "breach of the king's peace was an act of personal disobedience, and a much graver matter than an ordinary breach of the public order; it made the wrongdoer the king's enemy" who could be declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

. Over time, the notion of king's peace expanded, particularly in the 10th and 11th centuries. The expansion of the concept coincided with the expansion of the king's household to encompass governmental institutions, including the chancery,

exchequer In the civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty’s Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''current account'' (i.e., money held from taxation and other government reven ...

, chamber, and royal courts of law. Under the reigns of

Æthelred Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary prin ...

and

Cnut Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norwa ...

, the concept of king's peace had already extended to designated times, places, individuals, and institutions.John Hudson, ''The Oxford History of the Laws of England'', Vol. 2 (Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 386–88. Individuals and institutions under the king's peace included

legates A ''legatus'' (; anglicised as legate) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman Army, equivalent to a modern high-ranking general officer. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer ...

, churches, and assemblies.

Following the Norman Conquest

Following the

, the "king's peace" had extended to refer to "the normal and general safeguard of public order" in the realm, although specially granted peaces continued to be given after this period. Under the ''

Leges Edwardi Confessoris The title ''Leges Edwardi Confessoris'', or ''Laws of Edward the Confessor'', refers to a collection of laws, purporting to represent English law in the time of Edward the Confessor (reigned 1042–1066), as recited to the Norman invader king Wil ...

'' (Laws of Edward the Confessor), the four great highways of the realm (the

Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England that crosses the River Thames at London and which was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the Middle Ages. It was used by the ancient Britons and paved as one of the main R ...

Icknield Street Icknield Street or Ryknild Street is a Roman road in England, with a route roughly south-west to north-east. It runs from the Fosse Way at Bourton on the Water in Gloucestershire () to Templeborough in South Yorkshire (). It passes through Alc ...

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...

, and

Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...

) as well as

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...

rivers were also under the king's peace. The ''Leges Edwardi Confessoris'' provided that the weeks for

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, and

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

were under the king's peace as well. Maitland commented that the king's peace had begun to "swallow up lesser peaces" such as the peaces of local

lords of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

. For example, roads other than the four great Roman roads were formerly under the sheriffs' peace, but by the end of the 14th century had been brought under the king's peace. A breach of the king's peace could be either a crime or a

; one who breached the king's peace could be pursued by an appeal of felony or

writ of trespass The writs of trespass and trespass on the case are the two catchall torts from English common law, the former involving trespass against the person, the latter involving trespass against anything else which may be actionable. The writ is also known ...

(brought by the victim of the breach) or by an

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

of felony or indictment of trespass (brought on behalf of the king, frequently at the request of the victim). David J. Seipp, "The Distinction Between Crime and Tort in the Early Common Law," 76 B.U. L. Rev. 59 (1996). One who breached the king's peace was subject to punishment for both the breach and for the underlying conduct, which could be in the form of a fine, forfeiture, imprisonment, corporal punishment, or

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. The Charter of Henry I, issued upon Henry's coronation in 1100, stated: "I establish a lasting peace throughout the whole of my kingdom and command that it henceforth be maintained." Historian

John Hudson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

had commented that Henry I's cornational declaration of peace was non-specific, but did emphasize "the association of both the ideals and the practical enforcement of good order with firm kingship" as characterized by, among other things, an expansion of royal judicial activity. Hudson writes: "Thus the later precise legal notion of the king's peace may have developed more from ideas of the general king's peace, as manifest perhaps in shrieval grants and Henry's coronation decree, than from specific grants of royal protection." The

binding over In the law of England and Wales and some other common law jurisdictions, binding over is an exercise of certain powers by the criminal courts used to deal with low-level public order issues. Both magistrates' courts and the Crown Court may issue b ...

power of

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

, which was first codified in the

Justices of the Peace Act 1361 The Justices of the Peace Act 1361 (34 Edw 3 c 1) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of England. The Act, although amended, remains enforceable in England and Wales in 2022. Background Maintaining the peace h ...

, has partial roots in the early use of sureties of the peace, which "emerged from the peace-keeping arrangements of Anglo-Saxon law, extended by the use of the royal prerogative and royal

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

s to bestow the king's peace where the king wished until the peace became a nationwide legal reality." Sureties of the peace were replaced in the 13th and 14th centuries, as the institutions of keeper of the peace and then

were established. The 19th-century legal commentator

James Fitzjames Stephen Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet, KCSI (3 March 1829 – 11 March 1894) was an English lawyer, judge, writer, and philosopher. One of the most famous critics of John Stuart Mill, Stephen achieved prominence as a philosopher, law re ...

wrote that the conservators of the king's peace were the king, the

great officers of state Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the Royal Household, from which the officers of state arose, initially having household and government duties. Later some of these officers became ...

, and the

on the national level, and the

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

, and

s on the local level.

Law of homicide

In traditional common law, a killing of a human was a murder only if the victim was "under the king's peace" (i.e., not an outlaw or an enemy soldier in wartime).Malcolm Thorburn, "Punishment and Public Authority" in ''Criminal Law and the Authority of the State'' (eds. Antje du Bois-Pedain, Magnus Ulväng & Petter Asp: Hart, 2017), p. 24. This was predicated on the notion that, because the outlaw lived outside the king's peace, the king would not punish offenses against the outlaw. Historically, even

homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

s ''se defendendo'' (in

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...

) were considered offenses against the king, in that they deprived the king of the use of his subjects. As a result, killings in self-defense were treated as an

excuse In jurisprudence, an excuse is a defense to criminal charges that is distinct from an exculpation. Justification and excuse are different defenses in a criminal case (See Justification and excuse).Criminal Law Cases and Materials, 7th ed. 2012 ...

that required a royal pardon, rather than a justified act.Markus D. Dubber, "Histories of Crime and Criminal Justices and the Historical Analysis of Criminal Law" in ''The Oxford Handbook of the History of Crime and Criminal Justice'' (eds. Paul Knepper & Anja Johansen: Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 605. Similarly, the maiming of a person was an offense against the king because it reduced "the value of a

human resource Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...

, in this case, by rendering him incapable of military service."

Modern day

Today, the preservation of the King's Peace is the major responsibility of police services.

Lord Scarman Leslie George Scarman, Baron Scarman, (29 July 1911 – 8 December 2004) was an English judge and barrister, who served as a Law Lord until his retirement in 1986. Early life and education Scarman was born in Streatham but grew up on the borde ...

, in his

report A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...

on the

1981 Brixton riot The 1981 Brixton riot, or Brixton uprising, was a series of clashes between mainly black youths and the Metropolitan Police in Brixton, London, between 10 and 12 April 1981.J. A. Cloake & M. R. Tudor. ''Multicultural Britain''. Oxford Unive ...

, defined the "Queen's Peace" as the maintenance of "the normal state of society" (i.e., a "state of public tranquility") and defined it as the first duty of a police officer, ahead of the second duty of enforcing the law. In a 2011 speech to the Police Foundation,

Lord Judge Igor Judge, Baron Judge, (born 19 May 1941) is an English former judge who served as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the judiciary, from 2008 to 2013. He was previously President of the Queen's Bench Division, at the ...

(the

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

) said, "The concept Queen's Peace as it now is, unbreakably linked with the common law, is arguably the most cherished of all the ideas from our medieval past, still resonating in the modern world."Police Foundation's John Harris Memorial Lecture
Drapers Hall, London (7 July 2011). He noted that the police officers take an oath to "cause the peace to be kept and preserved and prevent all offences against people and property." In the controversial decision in '' R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Northumbria Police Authority'' (1989), the

for

held that the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

could exercise

prerogative powers The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in the ...

to maintain the peace of the realm. The court thus ruled that the Home Secretary had the power to purchase

crowd control Crowd control is a public security practice in which large crowds are managed in order to prevent the outbreak of crowd crushes, affray, fights involving drunk and disorderly people or riots. Crowd crushes in particular can cause many hundreds ...

devices, such as

plastic bullet A plastic bullet or plastic baton round (PBR) is a non-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon, they have caused a number of deaths when used incorrectly. Plastic bullets are generally used for ...

s and

CS gas The compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile (also called ''o''-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile; chemical formula: C10H5ClN2), a cyanocarbon, is the defining component of tear gas commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent ...

, even without statutory authorization or the approval of the local

police authority A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police ...

Breach of the peace

In modern English law, a

breach of the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

is not itself a crime.Orsolya Salát, ''The Right to Freedom of Assembly: A Comparative Study'' (Hart, 2015, pp. 121–24).David Pollard, Neil Parpworth & David Hughes, ''Constitutional and Administrative Law: Text with Materials'' (4th ed.: Oxford University Press, 2007), pp. 637–40. However, "where a breach of the peace has been committed or, alternatively, where such a breach is reasonably believed to be imminent, a police officer, or for that matter a member of the public, has the power at common law to arrest without warrant the individual or individuals who have either committed or are about to commit that breach of the peace even though no offence has actually been committed." This is a form of preventive arrest.Colin Turpin & Adam Tomkins, ''British Government and the Constitution: Text and Materials'' (7th ed.: Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 823. Under the

Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a consolidation Act.The Public General Acts and General Synod Measures 1980. HMSO. London. . Part IV. Pages ''i'', ''j'' and i. It codifies the p ...

, a magistrate has the power to "bind over" a person to keep the peace (i.e., to forfeit a sum of money upon a subsequent breach of the peace), and "refusal to be bound over to keep the peace is an offence in English law, punishable by up to six months' imprisonment." Moreover, the obstruction of an officer engaged in preventing a breach of the peace is a criminal offense. The case ''R v Howell'' (1981) defined breach of the peace as "harm ... actually done or likely to be done to a person or, in his presence, his property or is put in fear of being harmed through an assault,

affray In many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of one or more persons in a public place to the terror (in french: à l'effroi) of ordinary people. Depending on their act ...

, riot, unlawful assembly or other disturbance." In the 1998 case of ''Steel v UK'', the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

decided that this was a lawful restriction of the

freedom of assembly Freedom of peaceful assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right or ability of people to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue, and defend their collective or shared ide ...

under Article 5 and

Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects the right to freedom of assembly and association, including the right to form trade unions, subject to certain restrictions that are "in accordance with law" and "necessary in a democra ...

Medieval Scotland

Unlike medieval England, there is no strong evidence "for a strong conceptual and ideological royal peace" concept in

medieval Scotland Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series ...

; however, historian Alan Harding argues that 12th-century royal brieves of protection issued by

Scottish kings The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

implicitly reflect the same concept. Historian

Patrick Wormald Charles Patrick Wormald (9 July 1947 – 29 September 2004) was a British historian born in Neston, Cheshire, son of historian Brian Wormald. He attended Eton College as a King's Scholar. From 1966 to 1969 he read modern history at Balliol Colleg ...

suggests that Anglo-Saxon law and

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

developed in parallel, and that the "seminal notion of vesting social security in the protection afforded by the king's peace" applied in both Scotland and England, with very early origins.

Outside Britain

American law

After the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, American law merely adapted the common-law concept of the king's peace to refer to the maintenance of public order, and the concept of "an offense against the king's peace" to refer to an offense against the new sovereign—the people or the state. In the United States, the

common law offense Common law offences are crimes under English criminal law, the related criminal law of some Commonwealth countries, and under some U.S. State laws. They are offences under the common law, developed entirely by the law courts, having no specific ...

of breach of the peace was supplanted by the

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 ...

offense of

disturbing the peace Breach of the peace, or disturbing the peace, is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries and in a public order sense in the several jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It is a form of disorderly conduct. Public ord ...

. The separate offense of

disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...

has no common-law roots, but in most U.S. jurisdictions this offense "often is indistinguishable from" disturbing the peace.Philip Carlan, Lisa S. Nored & Ragan A. Downey, ''An Introduction to Criminal Law'' (Jones & Bartlett, 2011), p. 128. The application of criminal statutes on disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct have been limited by constitutional jurisprudence on the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, including the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

's rulings in ''

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire ''Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire'', 315 U.S. 568 (1942), was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court in which the Court articulated the fighting words doctrine, a limitation of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech. Background ...

'' (1942) and ''Colten v. Kentucky'' (1972).

Australian law

As a common-law nation, the notion of "breach of the Queen's peace" endures in Australia. In the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

decision ''Lipohar v R'' (1999), a decision dealing with jurisdiction to try a case for the common-law crime of

conspiracy to defraud Conspiracy to defraud is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. England and Wales The standard definition of a conspiracy to defraud was provided by Lord Dilhorne in '' Scott v Metropolitan Police Commissioner'' ...

, Justices Gaudron, Gummow, and

Hayne Hayne is a surname of English origin. Etymology According to the ''Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland'', modern names ''Haine'', ''Hayne'', '' Haines'', ''Hains'', ''Hanes'', and '' Haynes'' all in four different medieval nam ...

quoted a 1973 decision by the English judge

Lord Wilberforce Richard Orme Wilberforce, Baron Wilberforce, (11 March 1907 – 15 February 2003) was a British judge. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1964 to 1982. Early life and career Born in Jalandhar, India, Richard Wilberforce was the son of S ...

that "the common law treats certain actions as crimes" on the ground that the "actions in question are a threat to the Queen's peace, or, as we would now perhaps say, to society."
Lipohar v R
' (1999) 200

CLR CLR may refer to: * Calcium Lime Rust, a household cleaning-product * California Law Review, a publication by the UC Berkeley School of Law * Tube_bending, Centerline Radius, a term in the tubing industry used to describe the radius of a bend * Cen ...

485 (judgment by Gaudron J; Gummow J; Hayne J).

Significance in historiography and history of crime

The concept of the king's peace is significant in the

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

of medieval England, particularly regarding the study of the origin of the idea of

.Alice Taylor, ''The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124–1290'' (Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 165. ''

Black's Law Dictionary ''Black's Law Dictionary'' is the most frequently used legal dictionary in the United States. Henry Campbell Black (1860–1927) was the author of the first two editions of the dictionary. History The first edition was published in 1891 by West P ...

'' defines the term as "the king's guarantee of peace and security of life and

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

to all within his protection." The notion of the king's peace is linked to the idea of police power and, more generally,

sovereign power Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person ...

Notes

References

{{Authority control English criminal law Common law Royal prerogative Medieval English law

In English law

Development in common law

Anglo-Saxon origins

Following the Norman Conquest

Law of homicide

Modern day

Breach of the peace

Medieval Scotland

Outside Britain

American law

Australian law

Significance in historiography and history of crime

See also

Notes

References