The Treason Act 1708 (7 Ann c 21) is an Act of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

which harmonised the law of high treason between the former kingdoms of England and Scotland following their union as Great Britain in 1707. This Act is partly still in force in Great Britain (as of 2018).

Offences

Before the Act was passed, treason in Scotland consisted of "theft in landed men, murder under trust, wilful fire-raising, firing coalheughs, and assassination." Section 1 of the Act abolished these offences and replaced them with the English definition of high treason. The Act also applied the English offence of misprision of treason to Scotland. (However it did not extend petty treason to Scotland.) The Act also created new offences of treason. It became treason: *to counterfeit the Great Seal of Scotland and other Scottish seals (anywhere in Great Britain), and *to slay the

Lords of Session The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

Lords of Justiciary The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

"sitting in Judgment in the Exercise of their Office within Scotland". These new offences were similar to existing treasons in England, as in England it was already treason to kill judges or to forge the English seal. ''(For treason in English law in 1708 and today, see High treason in the United Kingdom.)'' Since 1708 treason law in Scotland has generally remained the same as in England. However while the offence of counterfeiting the Seal of Scotland was removed from English treason law in 1861, it is still treason in Scottish law. Also counterfeiting the

Great Seal of Great Britain The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom (known prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707 as the Great Seal of England; and from then until the Union of 1801 as the Great Seal of Great Britain) is a seal that is used to sym ...

(which was treason under another Act) ceased to be treason in England and became a felony in 1861. When the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

was established in 1998, treason and misprision of treason were designated as " reserved matters," meaning they fall outside its jurisdiction.

Procedure

Section III of the Act required the Scottish courts to try cases of treason and misprision of treason according to English rules of procedure and evidence. This rule was repealed in 1945.

Sections still in force

The Act originally had eleven sections, which were later renumbered one to fourteen. Of the fourteen sections, four survive: *Section 1 brings Scottish law into line with English law in respect of high treason and misprision of treason. *Section 5 made the penalties for high treason and misprision of treason in Scotland the same as in England ''(for details see the Treason Act 1814)''. *Section 11 makes it treason to kill certain Scottish judges. *Section 12 makes it treason to forge "Her Majesty's Seals appointed by the Twenty-fourth Article of the Union to be kept, used, and continued in Scotland". This list of seals includes the Great Seal of Scotland. (This section was repealed in England and Wales in 1830.Forgery Act 1830, sections 29 and 31.)

Other treason legislation in 1708

Another Act, 7 Ann. c. 25, amended the Coin Act 1696 (which made it treason to

counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

coins).

References

External links