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 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 ...

between the former kingdoms of England and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

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 Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a p ...

to Scotland. (However it did not extend

petty treason Petty treason or petit treason was an offence under the common law of England in which a person killed or otherwise violated the authority of a social superior, other than the king. In England and Wales, petty treason ceased to be a distinct offen ...

to Scotland.) The Act also created new offences of treason. It became treason: *to counterfeit the

Great Seal of Scotland The Great Seal of Scotland ( gd, Seala Mòr na h-Alba) is a principal national symbol of Scotland that allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix ...

and other Scottish seals (anywhere in Great Britain), and *to slay the Lords of Session or Lords of Justiciary "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 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 ...

.)'' 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 (which was treason under another Act) ceased to be treason in England and became a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...

in 1861. When the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of the capital ...

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 The Treason Act 1814 (54 Geo. III c. 146) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which modified the penalty for high treason for male convicts. Originally the mandatory sentence for a man convicted of hi ...

)''. *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 England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Engl ...

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 coins).

References

External links