Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1776 Explained

Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1776
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An act to empower his Majesty to secure and detain persons charged with, or suspected of, the crime of high treason, committed in any of his Majesty's colonies or plantations in America, or on the high seas, or the crime of piracy.
Year:1777
Citation:17 Geo. 3. c. 9
Royal Assent:3 March 1776
Expiry Date:1 January 1778
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Original Text:https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B09RAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA294-IA2

The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1776 (17 Geo. 3. c. 9) also known as the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1777 or the Treason Act 1777 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed during the American Revolution. It required that anyone who was charged with or suspected of high treason or piracy in America or on the high seas be held in custody without bail or trial until 1 January 1778. Bail could only be granted by an order of the Privy Council, signed by six members of the council.[1]

Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1778
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for continuing an Act made in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain Persons charged with or suspected of the Crime of High Treason, committed in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy."
Year:1778
Citation:18 Geo. 3. c. 1
Royal Assent:10 December 1777
Expiry Date:1 January 1779
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1779
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for further continuing an Act, made in the Seventeenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain Persons charged with, or suspected of, the Crime of High Treason, committed in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy."
Year:1779
Citation:19 Geo. 3. c. 1
Royal Assent:16 December 1778
Expiry Date:1 January 1780
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1780
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for further continuing an Act made in the Seventeenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain Persons charged with, or suspected of, the Crime of High Treason, committed in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy."
Year:1780
Citation:20 Geo. 3. c. 5
Royal Assent:15 December 1779
Expiry Date:1 January 1781
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1781
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for further continuing an Act made in the Seventeenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain Persons charged with, or suspected of, the Crime of High Treason, committed in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy."
Year:1781
Citation:21 Geo. 3. c. 2
Royal Assent:27 November 1780
Expiry Date:1 January 1782
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes
Short Title:Habeas Corpus Suspension Act 1782
Type:Act
Parliament:Parliament of Great Britain
Long Title:An Act for further continuing an Act made in the Seventeenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled, "An Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain Persons charged with, or suspected of the Crime of High Treason, committed in any of His Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in America, or on the High Seas, or the Crime of Piracy."
Year:1782
Citation:22 Geo. 3. c. 1
Royal Assent:20 December 1781
Expiry Date:1 January 1783
Repeal Date:21 August 1871
Status:repealed
Collapsed:yes

The Act was due to expire on 1 January 1778, but this was extended annually to 1 January of each successive year until 1 January 1783, when it was finally allowed to expire.[2] [3]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Statutes at Large, vol. VIII, London: Eyre, Straham, Woodfall.
  2. [18 Geo. 3]
  3. Statutes at Large, vol. X (Index), London: Eyre, Straham, Woodfall (1786), "Plantations" para. 115.