Treason Outlawries (Scotland) Act 1748
The Treason Outlawries (Scotland) Act 1748 (22 Geo.II c.48) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain[1] which applied only to Scotland. Its long title was An act to ascertain and establish the method of proceeding to and upon outlawries for high treason, and misprision of high treason, in Scotland.
The Act set out the procedure to be followed when anyone was prosecuted for treason or misprision of treason in Scotland. In particular, anyone who failed to surrender to the justice of the Scottish courts was to be automatically outlawed and attainted for the crime they were charged with, without the need for a trial, unless they had been out of Great Britain at the time, in which case they were still entitled to a trial provided that they returned and submitted themselves to the court within one year.[2]
The Act was repealed in 1977,[3] although it had been obsolete well before then.
References
- ↑ The Act was actually passed in 1749, but is listed under 1748 because under the common law acts of Parliament took effect retrospectively from the beginning of the session in which they were passed, which in this case was 1748: see the article Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793 for the explanation as to why.
- ↑ Statutes at Large, vol. XIX, Cambridge University, 1765, pp. 393-397.
- ↑ Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1977, s.1(1) & Sch.1, Pt.IV.