The Treason Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 1. c. 1) was an Act of the Parliament of England. (It should not be confused with another Act about treason passed in the same year, 1 Mar. Sess. 2 c. 6.)

Treason Act 1553[1]
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Acte repealing certayne Treasons Felonies and Premunire.[2]
Citation1 Mar. Sess. 1. c. 1
Territorial extent Kingdom of England
Dates
Royal assent21 October 1553
Repealed1 January 1968
Other legislation
AmendsTreason Act 1535
Amended by
Repealed byCriminal Law Act 1967
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Act abolished all forms of treason that had been created since 1351, except the Treason Act 1351 itself.[3] It also abolished all felonies created since the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII.

Repeal

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Section 2 of this Act was repealed on 28 July 1863 by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863.

The rest of the Act was repealed by section 10(2) of, and Part I of Schedule 3 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967.

Other treason legislation

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Treason (No. 2) Act 1553
Act of Parliament
 
Long titleAn act against counterfeiting of strange coins, being current within this realm, or of the Queen's highness sign manual, signet, or privy seal, to be adjudged high treason.
Citation1 Mar. Sess. 2. c. 6
Dates
Royal assent5 December 1553
Repealed1 May 1832
Other legislation
Amended byForgery Act 1830
Repealed byCoinage Offences Act 1832
Status: Repealed

Another act passed in the same year, the Treason (No. 2) Act 1553 (1 Mar. Sess. 2. c. 6), made it high treason to counterfeit foreign coins, or forge the Queen's privy seal, signet ring or royal sign-manual. This act was replaced by the Forgery Act 1830,[4] which continued this form of treason until it was repealed in 1861. (That offence continued to exist as a felony (after 1967, simply an offence) until 1981.)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by section 5 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
  2. ^ These words are printed against this Act in the second column of Schedule 2 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948, which is headed "Title".
  3. ^ Blackstone, W. (1765–69) Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book 4, chapter 6: "Of High Treason"
  4. ^ The 1830 act did not apply in Scotland: section 29.
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