The Treason Act 1397 (21 Ric.2 c. 12) was an
Act of the
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...
. It was supplemented by six other Acts (21 Ric.2 cc. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 20). The seven Acts together dealt with
high 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 ...
.
This legislation was passed during the final years of
King Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father d ...
's turbulent reign. The main Act (c.12) was a lengthy document setting out several new crimes which were to be treason. Another Act (c.3) confirmed that to "compasseth or purpose the death of the king, or to depose him," as well as the making of war against him in his realm, were treasonous acts. This act went further than the
Treason Act 1351
The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has b ...
, which required that the offence be proved "of
open deed." A third Act (c.4) also made it treason "to attempt to repeal any Judgments made by Parliament against certain traitors" (i.e.
acts of attainder). A fourth Act (c.6) disqualified the sons of traitors from sitting in Parliament or the King's Council. A fifth Act (c.7) voided all "Annuities, Fees, Corodies, and all other Charges made or granted" by traitors after the date of the treason they were convicted of. A sixth Act (c.2) made it treason to set up any commission which was prejudicial to the king (this was in response to a commission of
Lords Appellant
The Lords Appellant were a group of nobles in the reign of King Richard II, who, in 1388, sought to impeach some five of the King's favourites in order to restrain what was seen as tyrannical and capricious rule. The word ''appellant'' — still u ...
which had been set up by Parliament in 1386, against Richard's will). The last Act (c.20) made it treason to "pursue to repeal any of these statutes."
The new treasons created by Richard were abolished by another Act passed in the first year of his successor,
Henry IV (1399), which returned the law of treason to what it had been under the Treason Act 1351.
[1 Hen.4 c. 10] This Act explained the reason for the repeal:
The jurist Sir
William Blackstone
Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family i ...
wrote in his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'':
Detail of provisions
Chapter 3
21 Ric.2 c. 3 created four kinds of treason:
# to "compasseth or purposeth the Death of the King,"
# "or to depose him,"
# "or to render up his Homage or Liege,"
# "or
o... raiseth People and rideth against the King to make War within his Realm ..."
The Act declared that the procedure for prosecuting someone for any of these was by attainder in Parliament.
Chapter 12
21 Ric.2 c. 12 repealed everything done by the parliament of 1387 (11 Ric.2) and declared that the people who had been responsible for it were traitors. Moreover, it was declared to be treason for Parliament to impeach any of the king's officers without his consent, or for Parliament to continue to deliberate after the king dissolved it.
See also
*
High treason in the United Kingdom
Under the law of the United Kingdom, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Crown. Offences constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; committing adultery with the sovereign's consort, with the sovereign's eld ...
*
Treason Act 1381 (another Act passed by Richard II)
*
Treason Act
Treason Act or Treasons Act (and variations thereon) or Statute of Treasons is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland on the subject of treason and related offences.
Several Acts on the subje ...
References
* ''The Statutes of the Realm'', vol. 2 (1816)
External links
*
*
{{UK legislation
Treason in England
Acts of the Parliament of England
1390s in law
1397 in England