The Treason Act 1702 (1 Anne Stat. 2 c. 21Some volumes cite it as c.17) is an Act of the Parliament of England, passed to enforce the line of succession to the English throne (today the British throne), previously established by the Bill of Rights 1689 and the

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, bec ...

. The Act makes it treason to ''"endeavour to deprive or hinder any person who shall be the next in succession to the crown for the time being ... from succeeding after the decease of her Majesty (whom God long preserve) to the imperial crown of this realm and the dominions and territories thereunto belonging".'' Originally a capital offence, the penalty was reduced in 1998 to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Although the Act was passed by the English Parliament, it was later extended to Scotland by the

Treason Act 1708 The Treason Act 1708 (7 Ann c 21) is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain 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 st ...

, following the Union of the two kingdoms in the previous year. The Parliament of Ireland passed a law to the same effect in 1703, the Treason Act (Ireland) 1703 (c.5). This is still in force in Northern Ireland.

In fiction

* In the movie '' King Ralph'', Ralph used the Treason Act of 1702 as his justification in ordering the arrest of Lord Graves (

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in ...

) on the grounds that Graves had interfered with Ralph's succession to the throne. After silently going through the Mnemonic Verse, he mentioned it was passed by

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

, when in fact it was passed in the first year of

Queen Anne's Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensvil ...

reign. * In the movie ''

Johnny English ''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the ...

'', the "jumped-up Frenchman" Pascal Sauvage ( John Malkovich) is tried for treason under this Act when his plot to seize the throne is foiled, and the audience is told that the crime still carries a penalty of death by hanging. However, as the film was released in 2003 (the penalty was downgraded to life imprisonment in 1998), it renders the imposition of the death penalty inaccurate.

References

External links

Official text of the Act 1 Anne Stat. 2 1702
as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
Official text of the Treason Act (Ireland) 1703
as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database {{UK legislation 1702 in law 1702 in England Acts of the Parliament of England Acts of the Parliament of England still in force English monarchy English criminal law Treason in England

In fiction

See also

References

External links