The Penal Servitude Act 1864 is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The act amended the Penal Servitude Act 1853 and the

Penal Servitude Act 1857 Penal is a town in south Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. It lies south of San Fernando, Princes Town, and Debe, and north of Moruga, Morne Diablo and Siparia. It was originally a rice- and cocoa-producing area but is now a rapidly expanding and de ...

. The act received Royal Assent on 25 July 1864.

Provisions

The provisions of the act include: *Amending the former Acts to make the

minimum sentence Mandatory sentencing requires that offenders serve a predefined term for certain crimes, commonly serious and violent offenses. Judges are bound by law; these sentences are produced through the legislature, not the judicial system. They are inst ...

of penal servitude five years instead of three. **If one had already committed a felony, this was lengthened to seven years minimum sentence. *Gave the Secretary of State the power to order two or more

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 ...

to sentence offenders serving penal sentences to corporal punishment for offences they commit while in prison. *Allowed convicts to be freed by the issuing of a License. Such Licenses were forfeited if the convict was found guilty of another offence within the time period of their original sentence. *Making it an offence to not produce a License when asked by a

Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Sheriff Substitute or

Magistrate 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 ...

or to break the terms of the License which by itself would not be a crime. **Making the sentence for such offences three months imprisonment, with or without hard labour. *Allowing a police officer to arrest without warrant any License holder who may be reasonably be suspected of committing a crime or of violating the terms of their License and detain them until they can be put before a magistrate and "dealt with according to the law. *Allowing two or more Justices in England or Ireland to rule on offences in this Act, in manners directed in

Summary Jurisdiction Act 1848 may refer to: * Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences * Epitome, a summary or miniature form * Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...

(for England) and Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 (in Ireland). *Allowing any Sheriff, Sheriff Substitute, Magistrate or any two Justices in Scotland to rule on offences in this Act. *Making it the responsibility of whoever convicts the prisoner to notify the Secretary of State if the conviction is in England or Scotland or the

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

in Ireland. *Making prisoners whose Licenses have been revoked carry out the remainder of the term exempted by the License while serving any other sentence they might be subject to. *Gave

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

and the Governor of Ireland the powers to give and revoke Licenses with amended terms "at pleasure".

Timeline

The Act had its second reading on 4 March 1864 and gained royal assent on 25 July 1864.

Repeal

Sections 2 and 6 of the Act (giving corporal punishments and arrest without warrant) were repealed by the

Penal Servitude Act 1891 Penal is a town in south Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. It lies south of San Fernando, Princes Town, and Debe, and north of Moruga, Morne Diablo and Siparia. It was originally a rice- and cocoa-producing area but is now a rapidly expanding and d ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matrimonial Causes Act 1864 United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1864 Criminal law of the United Kingdom 1864 in British law Penal system in the United Kingdom