Habeas Corpus Act 1679

Habeas Corpus Act 1679

Infobox UK Legislation
short_title=Habeas Corpus Act 1679
parliament=Parliament of England
long_title=An Act for the better securing the Liberty of the Subject, and for Prevention of Imprisonment beyond the Seas
statute_book_chapter=31 Cha. 2. 2
introduced_by=
territorial_extent=
royal_assent=27 May 1679
commencement=
amendments=51 & 52 Vict. c. 3
related_legislation=
status=Current
|

The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of the Parliament of England (31 Cha. 2 c. 2) ['Charles II, 1679: An Act for the better secureing the Liberty of the Subject and for Prevention of Imprisonments beyond the Seas.', Statutes of the Realm: volume 5: 1628-80 (1819), pp. 935-38. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=47484. Date accessed: 6 March 2007.] passed during the reign of King Charles II to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ of "habeas corpus", whereby persons unlawfully detained can be ordered to be prosecuted before a court of law.

The Act is often wrongly described as the origin of the writ of "habeas corpus", which had existed for at least three centuries before. The Act of 1679 followed an earlier act of 1640, which established that the command of the King or the Privy Council was no answer to a petition of "habeas corpus". Further Habeas Corpus Acts were passed by the British Parliament in 1803, 1804, 1816 and 1862, but it is the Act of 1679 which is remembered as one of the most important statutes in English constitutional history. Though amended, it remains on the statute book to this day.

The Act came about because the Earl of Shaftesbury encouraged his friends in the Commons to introduce the Bill where it passed and was then sent up the Lords. Shaftesbury was the leading Exclusionist—those who wanted to exclude Charles II's brother James, Duke of York from the succession—and the Bill was a part of that struggle as they believed James would rule arbitrarily. The Lords decided to add many wrecking amendments to the Bill in an attempt to kill it; the Commons had no choice to pass the Bill with the Lords' amendments because they learned that the King would soon end the current parliamentary session.

The Bill went back and forth between the two Houses, and then the Lords voted on whether to set up a conference on the Bill. If this motion was defeated the Bill would stay in the Commons and therefore have no chance of being passed. Each side—those voting for and against—appointed a teller who stood on each side of the door through which those Lords who had voted "aye" re-entered the House (the "nays" remained seated). One teller would count them aloud whilst the other teller listened and kept watch in order to know if the other teller was telling the truth. Shaftesbury's faction had voted for the motion, so they went out and re-entered the House. Gilbert Burnet, one of Shaftesbury's friends, recorded what then happened:

Lord Grey and Lord Norris were named to be the tellers: Lord Norris, being a man subject to vapours, was not at all times attentive to what he was doing: so, a very fat lord coming in, Lord Grey counted him as "ten", as a jest at first: but seeing Lord Norris had not observed it, he went on with this misreckoning of ten: so it was reported that they that were for the Bill were in the majority, though indeed it went for the other side: and by this means the Bill passed. [Quoted in J. E. Powell, "Great Parliamentary Occasions" (The Queen Anne Press, 1966), p. 65.]

The clerk recorded in the minutes of the Lords that the "ayes" had fifty-seven and the "nays" had fifty-five, a total of 112, but the same minutes also state that only 107 Lords had attended that sitting. [Ibid.]

The King arrived shortly thereafter and gave Royal Assent before proroguing Parliament. The Act is now stored in the Parliamentary Archives.

Notes

See also

*Habeas corpus
*Magna Carta
*Petition of Right
*Bill of Rights

External links

* [http://www.parliament.uk/archives The Parliamentary Archives holds the original of this historic record]
* [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a1_9_2s2.html Full Habeas Corpus Act (U. of Chicago)]
* [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/tocs/a1_9_2.html Other Habeas Corpus materials (U. of Chicago)]
* [http://www.constitution.org/eng/habcorpa.htm (Partial) Text of the 1679 Habeas Corpus Act]
*UK-SLD|1518495


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Habeas Corpus Act — Mit „Habeas corpus …“ (lat. wörtlich „du sollst den Körper haben“) wurden im Mittelalter in England die rechtlich nicht beschränkten königlichen Haftbefehle eingeleitet. Diese Wendung war an den Ausführenden adressiert und bedeutet: man möge die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Habeas corpus in the United States — Habeas corpus (/ heɪbiəs kɔɹpəs/), Latin for you [should] have the body , is the name of a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. The Suspension Clause of the United States Constitution… …   Wikipedia

  • Habeas corpus (disambiguation) — Habeas Corpus can refer to* Habeas corpus , a legal action through which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention **Habeas Corpus Act 1679, passed during the reign of King Charles II to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ… …   Wikipedia

  • Habeas Corpus — термин английского права, которым обозначается основная гарантия личной свободы в Англии. Всякий, считающий себя лишенным свободы неправильно или противозаконно, может обратиться в суд и просить о выдаче ему writ of Habeas Corpus. Это приказ,… …   Энциклопедический словарь Ф.А. Брокгауза и И.А. Ефрона

  • Habeas corpus — This article is about the legal term. For other uses, see Habeas corpus (disambiguation). Prerogative w …   Wikipedia

  • Habeas Corpus Bill of 1758 — The Habeas Corpus Bill of 1758 was a failed bill that would have extended habeas corpus if passed.The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 confirmed the common law tradition that subjects had a right to a writ of habeas corpus. However judges ruled that those… …   Wikipedia

  • habeas corpus — [15] Habeas corpus means literally ‘you should have the body’. They are the first words of a Latin writ, apparently in use in England since the 13th century, requiring a person to be brought before a court of law. It begins Habeas corpus ad… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • habeas corpus — [15] Habeas corpus means literally ‘you should have the body’. They are the first words of a Latin writ, apparently in use in England since the 13th century, requiring a person to be brought before a court of law. It begins Habeas corpus ad… …   Word origins

  • HABEAS CORPUS — La procédure par laquelle un juge ou une cour de justice enjoint au garde d’un individu détenu ou incarcéré d’avoir à présenter corporellement cette personne aux fins de décider de la légalité de la détention est aussi ancienne que la common law… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Habeas Corpus — L’ordonnance, bref ou mandat d habeas corpus (en anglais writ of habeas corpus), plus exactement habeas corpus ad subjiciendum et recipiendum, énonce une liberté fondamentale, celle de ne pas être emprisonné sans jugement. En vertu de cette loi,… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”