Criminal Law Act 1827
1 July 1827 | |
Repealed | 1967 |
---|---|
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Criminal Law Act 1967 |
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
The Criminal Law Act 1827 (
The Act has sixteen parts. Parts I - V concerned the formalities of
Part I: Mode of trial
This part of the act stated:
if any Person not having
Before this enactment, defendants who pleaded "not guilty" to a charge of felony were formally obliged to choose their mode of trial, in a standard exchange with the
Part II: Consequences of refusal to plead
Historically, prisoners who refused to plead to an indictment were tortured, in a process known as
Parts III - V
Part III of the act limited the number of
Parts VI - VII: Benefit of clergy
Part VI stated - "And be it enacted, That benefit of clergy, with respect to persons convicted of felony, shall be abolished".
Part VII of the 1827 Act preserved the relief from the death penalty that was formerly available to felons entitled to claim benefit of clergy.[2]
Parts VIII - XI: Punishment of felons
Part VIII specified the penalties for felonies for which no punishment was explicitly prescribed:
Part XI provided for increased penalties (imprisonment for up to seven years or transportation for life) for repeat offenders, and made it a felony for any court official to produce fraudulent evidence of previous convictions.[2]
Part XII: Admiralty cases
Part XII prescribed that "all Offences prosecuted in the
Part XIII: Pardons
Part XIII dealt with pardons – "no free Pardon ... shall prevent or mitigate the Punishment to which the Offender might otherwise be lawfully sentenced on a subsequent Conviction".[2]
Parts XIV - XVI
Part XIV of the act stated that references to males in the act included females, references to singular persons included multiple persons, and that the Act applied to legal persons as well as natural persons.[2] Part XV specified the date on which the Act was to come into force (1 July 1827), and Part XVI excluded Scotland and Ireland from its provisions.
See also
References
- short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pratt, John Tidd (1827). A Collection of the Late Statutes Passed for the Administration of Criminal Justice in England. 52 Fleet St, London: W Benning. p. 69.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ Bouvier, John (1856). "Bouvier's Law Dictionary". Constitution Society. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-406-93053-8.
- ^ ISBN 0814762042.
- ^ Burtsell, Richard (1907). "Benefit of Clergy". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 11 June 2016 – via New Advent.
- ^ Deedes, John; Merivale, Herman (1851). Law Society Reports. Vol. X. London: E B Ince. p. 27.
External links
- Original text of the bill, from The Statutes of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Volumes 67-68, page 165 (via Google Books)