The Treason Act 1695 (7 & 8 Will 3 c 3) is 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 ...

which laid down rules of evidence and procedure in

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 ...

trials. It was passed by the English Parliament but was extended to cover Scotland in 1708 and Ireland in 1821. Some of it is still in force today.

Provisions

The Act provided that: * People accused of treason should have the right to be represented by up to two

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

. * Nobody could be convicted of treason except by the evidence of two witnesses to the same offence (but not necessarily the same

overt act In criminal law, an overt act is the one that can be clearly proved by evidence and from which criminal intent can be inferred, as opposed to a mere intention in the mind to commit a crime. Such an act, even if innocent ''per se'', can potentiall ...

of the offence). (This rule, previously enacted in the

Treason Act 1547 The Treason Act 1547 (1 Ed. 6 c.12) was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is mainly notable for being the first instance of the rule that two witnesses are needed to prove a charge of treason, a rule which still exists today in the United ...

, the

Treason Act 1554 The Treason Act 1554 (1 & 2 Ph & M c 10) was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is not to be confused with two other Acts about treason passed in the same year, 1 & 2 Ph & M c 9 and 11 (summarised below). Long title The long title was "An A ...

and the

Sedition Act 1661 The Sedition Act 1661 (13 Car 2 St 1 c 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England, although it was extended to Scotland in 1708. Passed shortly after the Restoration of Charles II, it is no longer in force, but some of its provisions continu ...

, was inherited by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and incorporated into Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, which added that both witnesses had to have witnessed the same overt act.) * Nobody could be prosecuted or punished for treason or

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 ...

unless the

indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a legal person, person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felony, felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concep ...

was signed by the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

within three years of the crime being committed (except in cases of an attempt on the life of the King, or treason outside

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 Eng ...

). * A defendant should be allowed to have a copy of the indictment against him (at his own expense). * No evidence could be used against him except what was pleaded in the indictment. However, the Act did not apply to forgery (some kinds of forgery were classed as high treason by 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 ...

), or to

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 ...

History

The Act was passed because previously the law had been extremely harsh, allowing little opportunity for a defendant to defend himself and enabling trumped-up charges of treason to succeed. By the 1680s even the notoriously severe

Judge Jeffreys George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, PC (15 May 1645 – 18 April 1689), also known as "the Hanging Judge", was a Welsh judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor (and serving as ...

was prepared to admit that it was "hard" that the accused in a treason trial had no right to counsel. However, between 1817 and 1998 the protection of the Act was removed from those accused of treason by assaulting the heir to the throne, or misprision of such treason. Today most of the Act has been repealed, but the three-year time limit still survives (''see below''), and of course, the rights to be represented and to have a copy of the indictment (now free of charge) still exist in other legislation. However, the "two witnesses" rule no longer exists in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. In 1800 this rule, and all other special rules of evidence in treason cases, were abolished for cases of killing or attempting to kill the Sovereign. The

Treason Act 1842 The Treason Act 1842 (5 & 6 Vict. c.51) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was passed early in the reign of Queen Victoria. The last person to be convicted under the Act was Marcus Sarjeant in 198 ...

extended this exception still further, to all attempts to maim or wound the Sovereign (non-lethal assaults on the Sovereign were treason until 1998). Finally, in 1945, the special status of treason was removed for all kinds of treason, and ever since then the evidence required, and the procedure followed, in treason proceedings have been the same as in murder trials. Repeals Sections 2 and 4 were repealed in part by the Statute Law Revision Act 1888. The

Treason Act 1945 The Treason Act 1945 (8 & 9 Geo.6 c.44) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was introduced into the House of Lords as a purely procedural statute, whose sole purpose was to abolish the old and highly technical procedure in ca ...

repealed the whole Act, except for sections 5 and 6. Section 5 was repealed in part by the Statute Law Revision Act 1948.

The Act today

The three-year time limit described above – and the original exception to it – are still on the law books today, and are contained in sections 5 and 6 of the Act. (However grand juries were abolished in England in 1933, and now indictments need no longer be signed.) When in 2000 a British newspaper suggested that

James Hewitt James Lifford Hewitt (born 30 April 1958) is a British former cavalry officer in the British Army. He came to public attention in the mid-1990s after he disclosed an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, while she was still married to then-Pri ...

be prosecuted under the

for an alleged affair with

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

,BBC News
31.8.2000 it was pointed out that the mooted evidence fell outside the time limit.

References

The Treason Act 1695
as amended, from

Legislation.gov.uk legislation.gov.uk, formerly known as the UK Statute Law Database, is the official web-accessible database of the statute law of the United Kingdom, hosted by The National Archives. It contains all primary legislation in force since 1267 and a ...

*'William III, 1695-6: An Act for regulateing of Tryals in Cases of Treason and Misprision of Treason hapter III. Rot. Parl. 7 & 8 Gul. III. pt. 1.nu.3., Statutes of the Realm: volume 7: 1695-1701 (1820), pp. 6–7. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46810. Date accessed: 16 February 2007. {{UK legislation 1695 in law 1695 in England Treason in England Acts of the Parliament of England Acts of the Parliament of England still in force English criminal law

Provisions

History

The Act today

See also

References