Peel's Acts (as they are commonly known) were Acts of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. They consolidated provisions from a large number of earlier

statutes A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

which were then repealed. Their purpose was to simplify the

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. The term refers to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

who sponsored them,

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...

. Some writers apply the term Peel's Acts to the series of acts passed between 1826 and 1832. Other writers apply the term Peel's Acts specifically to five of those acts, namely chapters 27 to 31 of the session 7 & 8 Geo. 4 (1827). According to some writers, the Criminal Law Act 1826 ( 7 Geo. 4. c. 64) was the first of Peel's Acts. The acts were the product of a failed attempt to codify the criminal law.

Background

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's

Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' (commonly, but informally known as ''Blackstone's Commentaries'') are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarend ...

, published in the late

18th-century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to cha ...

, raised questions about the system and structure of the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing

statute book The Statute Book is "the surviving body of enacted legislation published by authority" in "a number of publications". In England at the end of 1948, the Statute Book printed by authority consisted of the twenty-four volumes of ''The Statutes: Se ...

. In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825,

The Statutes of the Realm ''The Statutes of the Realm'' is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen A ...

was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done". However, this was never done. In 1822,

entered the cabinet as

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

and in 1826 introduced a number of reforms to the

English criminal law English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, i ...

, which became known as Peel's Acts. This included efforts to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions from a large number of earlier

, including: *

Benefit of clergy In English law, the benefit of clergy ( Law Latin: ''privilegium clericale'') was originally a provision by which clergymen accused of a crime could claim that they were outside the jurisdiction of the secular courts and be tried instead in an ec ...

Larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

and other offences of stealing *

Burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

and

threat A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation f ...

s for the purpose of

or of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

Embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

, false pretences, and the

receipt of stolen property Possession of stolen goods is a crime in which an individual has bought, been given, or acquired stolen goods. In many jurisdictions, if an individual has accepted possession of goods (or property) and knew they were stolen, then the individua ...

* Malicious injuries to property * Remedies against the

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

The acts 7 & 8 Geo. 4. cc. 27 to 31

These acts are: *The Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27) *The Criminal Law Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28) *The Larceny Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29) *The Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 30) *The Remedies against the Hundred Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 31), also called the Riot Act 1827 Similar provisions were made for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

: * The Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 53) * The Criminal Law (Ireland) Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 54) * The Larceny (Ireland) Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 55) * The Malicious Injuries to Property (Ireland) Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 56)

The acts replaced by the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861

James Edward Davis said that the

Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861 The Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. cc. 94–100) were Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated provisions from a large number of earlier statutes which were then repealed. Their purpose was to simplify ...

are new editions of Peel's Acts. The acts listed below were replaced by the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861. There were two separate sets of broadly identical acts for England and Ireland respectively. The first four acts on this list consolidated 316 acts, representing almost four-fifths of all offences.

England

*The Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27) (48 statutes) *The Larceny Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29) (92 statutes) *The Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 30) (effectively replacing the statutes abolished by c. 27 and c. 29) *The

Offences against the Person Act 1828 The Offences Against the Person Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c. 31), also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for England and Wales provisions in the law related to offences against the ...

( 9 Geo. 4. c. 31) (56 statutes) *The Forgery Act 1830 ( 11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. 66) (120 statutes) *The

Coinage Offences Act 1832 The Coinage Offences Act 1832 ( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated for the United Kingdom all legislation concerning the counterfeiting and clipping of coins into one act. Such conduct w ...

( 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34)

Ireland

* The Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 ( 9 Geo. 4. c 53) * 9 Geo. 4. c. 55, sometimes referred to as the Larceny Act 1828 or the Larceny (Ireland) Act 1828 * 9 Geo. 4. c. 56, sometimes referred to as the Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1828 or the Malicious Injuries to Property (Ireland) Act 1828 * 10 Geo. 4. c. 34, sometimes referred to as the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 and as the Offences Against the Person Act (Ireland) 182986 Journal of the House of Common
165
/ref>

Sources

*John Frederick Archbold. Peel's Acts, and all the other Criminal Statutes passed from the First Year of the Reign of George IV to the Present Time. Third Edition. Saunders and Benning. Fleet Street, London. 1835
Volume 1
*John Frederick Archbold. Peel's Acts. William Benning. London. 1828. Google Books
Peel's Acts, with the Forms of Indictments, Etc., and the Evidence Necessary to Support ThemPeel's Acts, with the Forms of Indictments, Etc., and the Evidence Necessary to Support Them
*An Alphabetical Arrangement of Mr. Peel's Acts, Lord Lansdowne's Act, &c. &c. Second Edition. J & W T Clarke. Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn, London. 1830. Google Books
An Alphabetical Arrangement of Mr Peel's Acts, Lord Lansdowne's Act, &c. &c. ... and other enactments relating to the criminal law ... Second edition ... By a Barrister. [i.e. John Frederick Archbold.]An Alphabetical Arrangement of Mr. Peel's Acts, Lord Lansdowne's Act, Etc., Etc., Relating to the Better Administration of Criminal Justice, the Consolidation of Larceny; Malicious Injuries to Property; the Regulation of Remedies Against the Hundred; the Consolidation of Offenses Against the Person; and the New Acts Relating to Poaching, Smuggling, and Setting Spring Guns, Etc., and Other Statutes Relating to the Criminal Law. With Explanatory Notes, Forms of Indictments, and the Evidence in Support of Each IndictmentAn Alphabetical Arrangement of Mr. Peel's Acts, Lord Lansdowne's Act, Etc., Etc., Relating to the Better Administration of Criminal Justice, the Consolidation of Larceny; Malicious Injuries to Property; the Regulation of Remedies Against the Hundred; the Consolidation of Offenses Against the Person; and the New Acts Relating to Poaching, Smuggling, and Setting Spring Guns, Etc., and Other Statutes Relating to the Criminal Law. With Explanatory Notes, Forms of Indictments, and the Evidence in Support of Each Indictment
*An Alphabetical Arrangement of Mr. Peel's Acts. Printed for J & W T Clarke. Portugal Street, Lincoln's Inn, London. 182
Google Books
*Isaac Espinasse. The Five Acts called Mr. Peel's Acts. London. 1827
The Five Acts Called Mr. Peel's Acts (7 and 8 Geo. IV. C. 27, 28, 29, 30, 31,) Reduced to Distinct Heads, and Adapted to the Arrangement of Burn's Justice
*George Pyne Andrewes. An Abridgement of Mr. Peel's five important Acts of Parliament just passed for the improvement of the Criminal Law. London. 1827
Catalogue
*The Late Acts of Parliament amending the Criminal Law of England, commonly called Peel's Acts. James Ross. Hobart Town. 1830.�
CatalogueBibliography
*John Tidd Pratt. A Collection of the late Statutes, passed for the Administration of Criminal Justice in England; comprising 7 Geo. IV., Cap. 64, 7 & 8 Geo. IV., Cap. 18, 27, 28, 29, 30 & 31. Second Edition. W Benning. Fleet Street, London. 1827
Google Books
*The Six Acts Passed in the Seventh and Eighth Years of the Reign of His Present Majesty for Further Improving the Administration of Criminal Justice in England. Edward Dunn and Son. Fleet Street, London. 1827
Google Books
*The Annual Register . . . of the Year 1827, page
185
to 187. *William C M'Dermott. The Criminal Code for Ireland, as amended by the late Enactments. Printed for John Cumming. Dublin. 1829
Google Books

Citations

{{UK legislation English criminal law Acts Consolidation Acts