Offences Against the Person Act 1828

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book. 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 was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1822, Sir Robert Peel entered the cabinet as home secretary and in 1826 introduced a number of reforms to the English criminal law, which became known as Peel's Acts. This included efforts to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions from a large number of earlier statutes, including: • Benefit of clergy • Larceny and other offences of stealing • Burglary, robbery and threats for the purpose of robbery or of extortion • Embezzlement, false pretences, and the receipt of stolen property • Malicious injuries to property • Remedies against the hundred In 1827, several acts were passed for this purpose, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including: • Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 27), which repealed for England and Wales over 140 enactments relating to the criminal law • Criminal Law Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 28), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. • Larceny Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 29), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to larceny. • Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 (7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 30), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious injuries to property. == Passage ==

In an address to Parliament titled State of the Common Law on 29 February 1828, the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel stated that during his absence from office, work had been done to prepare reforms related to offences against the person, as part of broader ongoing efforts to reform and consolidate the criminal law. The Offences against the Person Bill was presented by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne and had its first reading in the House of Lords on 3 March 1828. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 18 March 1828. • Consolidating 56 existing enactments related to offenses against the person into a single comprehensive bill. • Reclassifying petty treason as murder, removing certain legal privileges for those accused of petty treason. • Expanding the definition of attempted murder to include methods beyond shooting, stabbing, or cutting, such as strangling and drowning. • Equalizing the punishment for procuring abortion, regardless of whether the woman was 'quick with child' or not. • Making the concealment of a bastard child a separate offense from murder. • Expanding the crime of abduction to cover females with any property interest, not just heiresses. • Giving judges discretionary power in sentencing for the offense of abandoning seamen on foreign shores. The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 28 March 1828 and reported with amendments on 3 April 1828. The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 17 April 1828. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 21 April 1828, The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 5 May 1828, with amendments. The amended bill was considered by the House of Commons on 16 May 1828 and was re-committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 16 May 1828, with amendments. The re-amended bill was considered by the House of Commons and was re-committed to a committee of the whole house on 23 May 1828 which met on 23 May 1828 and reported on 30 May 1828, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 6 June 1828. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 19 June 1828, with further amendments. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Commons on 25 June 1828. The bill was granted royal assent on 27 June 1828. == Provisions ==

Section 1 of the act repealed acts from 1225 (9 Hen. 3. c. 26) to 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 114). Beside repealing, simplifying and consolidating the statute law, the act contained changes to the law. Section 2 of the act abolished the distinctive offence of petty treason, providing that petty treason should be treated as murder. Section 14 of the act made the concealment of the birth of a child a misdemeanour, whether by a single or married woman. == Legacy ==

Legal significance The act has been described by historian as Gregory Smith as "the first truly comprehensive piece of legislation designed to address interpersonal violence in British society". Clark also contends that requiring proof of ejaculation allowed judges and magistrates to ask victims humiliating and explicit questions. Subsequent developments At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, Lord Cranworth announced his intention to the improvement of the statute law and in March 1853, appointed the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal expired statutes and continue consolidation, with a wider remit that included civil law. • Offences Against the Person • Malicious Injuries to Property • Larceny • Forgery • Coining • Accessories and Abettors In 1861, the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts were passed: • Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 94) • Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 95) • Larceny Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 96) • Malicious Damage Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 97) • Forgery Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 98) • Coinage Offences Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 99) • Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100) Further repeals The territorial extent of the act was limited to England and Wales. Section 1 of the Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 53) largely mirrored the act for Ireland, including repealing acts extended to Ireland by the passage of Poynings' Act 1495. Section 125 of the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 74) repealed for India all the enactments listed in the act. A number of the act's provisions were repealed and replaced by the Offences Against the Person Act 1837 (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. 85). The death penalty for shooting, stabbing, cutting or wounding with intent (s.12), and for post-quickening abortions (s.13) under this act was abolished by repeal of those sections by section 1 of the 1837 act (sections 12 and 13 of this act were replaced by sections 4 and 6 of the 1837 act, respectively). The death penalty for rape (s.16) and carnal knowledge of a girl under ten (s.17) was abolished by amendment of those sections by section 3 of the Substitution of Punishments of Death Act 1841 (4 & 5 Vict. c. 56). Section 18 made provision in relation to proof of carnal knowledge. The act was wholly replaced by the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 100). The act was repealed by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 95). The territorial terms of the act led to several acts being for the avoidance of doubt for Scotland repealed by later Statute Law Revision Acts, including the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 101). == Repealed enactments ==

Section 1 of the act repealed 59 enactments listed in that section. The territorial extent of the repeal, to take effect on 1 July 1828, was limited to England and Wales and the jurisdiction of the Admiralty of England. Section 1 of the act also stated that for offenses and other matters committed or done on or before 30 June 1828, the repealed acts will still apply as if the act had not been passed. == See also ==