The Treason Act 1586 or the Errors in Attainders Act 1586 ( 29 Eliz. 1. c. 2) 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 ...

. Its

long title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. The ...

was "An act concerning errors in records of

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

s of

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 ...

." It stated that where a person had been executed for high treason, their conviction was not to be posthumously overturned or "reversed" at the suit of their heirs. This was because (according to the Act's preamble) "through corruption or negligent keeping, the records of attainders of treason happen many times to be impaired, blemished or otherwise to be defective." The Act was intended to prevent people from taking advantage of this. The Act did not apply to any

writ of error In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

which had already been brought, or affect any record which had already been reversed.

References

*''Statutes at Large,'' vol. V, Danby Pickering, Cambridge University Press, 1765.

References

See also