Statute merchant () and statute staple are two old forms of security, long

obsolete Obsolescence is the process of becoming antiquated, out of date, old-fashioned, no longer in general use, or no longer useful, or the condition of being in such a state. When used in a biological sense, it means imperfect or rudimentary when comp ...

in English practice, though references to them still occur in some modern statutes. The former security was first created by the Statute of Merchants 1283, or Statute of Acton Burnell (named after Acton Burnell in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

, the place where Parliament met and passed the statute) and amplified by the Statute of Merchants 1285, whence its name, and the latter by an act of 1353, which provided that in every staple (i.e. public mart) the seal of the staple should be sufficient validity for a bond of record acknowledged and witnessed before the mayor of the staple. They were originally permitted only among traders, for the benefit of commerce, but afterwards extended by an act of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

(1532) to all subjects, whether traders or not. The creditor under either form of security was allowed to seize the goods and hold the lands of a defaulting debtor until satisfaction of his debt. While he held the lands he was termed tenant by

statute 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 ...

merchant or by

staple. In addition to the loss of his goods and lands the

debtor A debtor or debitor is a legal entity (legal person) that owes a debt to another entity. The entity may be an individual, a firm, a government, a company or other legal person. The counterparty is called a creditor. When the counterpart of this ...

was liable to be imprisoned. Statute merchant, owing to the summary method of enforcing payment, was sometimes known as pocket judgment. Both were repealed by the

Statute Law Revision Act 1863 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 ...

. An example of a suit of statute merchant can be seen in the Plea Rolls of the Court of Common Pleas, in 1430, where John Salter, citizen and tanner of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, John Wyot, vicar of St Nicholas, Mikelgate, John Yoman, (the latter two as executors of Henry Ravenswath) are parties. Common Plea Rolls; National Archives; CP 40 / 677; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no677/aCP40no677fronts/IMG_0555.htm; last entry on image. The acts were extended to

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 ...

Poynings' Law 1495 An Act confirming all the Statutes made in England ( 10 Hen. 7. c. 22 (I); short title Poynings' Law in Northern Ireland and Poynings' Act 1495 in the Republic of Ireland) is an act of the Parliament of Ireland which gave all statutes "late ...

( 10 Hen. 7. c. 22 (I)). The whole act was repealed for

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, 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. Th ...

by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the

( 26 & 27 Vict. c. 125) and for

by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the

Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 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 ...

( 35 & 36 Vict. c. 98).

Notes

References

{{Reflist Acts of the Parliament of England 1283 Repealed English legislation