Offences against the Person Act 1828

Offences against the Person Act 1828

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act for consolidating and amending the Statutes in England relative to Offences against the Person.
Statute book chapter 9 Geo.4 c.31
Territorial extent England and Wales
Dates
Royal Assent 27 June 1828
Commencement 1 July 1828[1]
Repeal date 1 November 1861
Other legislation
Repealing legislation Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c.95), s.1 & Sch.
Status: Repealed

The Offences against the Person Act 1828 (9 Geo.4 c.31) (also known as Lord Lansdowne's Act) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of violence) from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. It was one of a number of criminal law consolidation Acts known as Peel's Acts passed with the object of simplifying the law. Among the laws it replaced was clause XXVI of the Magna Carta, the first time any part of the Magna Carta was repealed. It also abolished the crime of petty treason.

It only applied to England and Wales (then described as England). A similar statute was passed for Ireland the following year (10 Geo.4 c.34).

A number of its provisions were repealed and replaced by the Offences against the Person Act 1837. 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 that Act (replaced by ss.4 and 6 of that 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.

Section 18 made provision in relation to proof of carnal knowlededge.

The Act was wholly replaced by the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Offences against the Person Act 1828, section 1

External link

The Offences against the Person Act 1828, as originally enacted, The Statutes at Large, 1828 (from Google Book Search).