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 that consolidated for England and Wales provisions in the law related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of violence) from a number of earlier piecemeal statutes into a single act. Among the laws it replaced was clause XXVI of Magna Carta, the first time any part of Magna Carta was repealed, and the Buggery Act 1533 (25 Hen. 8. c. 6). The act also abolished the crime of petty treason.
The act was one of Peel's Acts which consolidated, repealed and replaced a large number of existing statutes.
Similar provision was made for Ireland by the Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 34) and for India by the Criminal Law (India) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 74).
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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.[1]
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.[2] From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.[2] In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done.[3]
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:[4]
In 1827, several acts were passed for this purpose, territorially limited to England and Wales and Scotland, including:
In an address to Parliament titled State of the Common Law on 29 February 1828, the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel MP 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.[5]
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.[6] The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 18 March 1828.[6] In his speech introducing the bill, Lord Lansdowne, outlined several key changes to the law regarding offenses against the person to at modernise and clarifying existing laws while addressing gaps and inconsistencies in the current system, including:[7]
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.[6] The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 15 April 1828, with amendments.[6] Specifically, an amendment by Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, to retain the punishment of dissection for executed murderers, was accepted.[8]
The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 17 April 1828.[9] The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 21 April 1828,[9] introduced by the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel MP.[10] The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 5 May 1828, with amendments.[9] 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.[9] 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.[9] The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 6 June 1828.[9]
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 19 June 1828, with further amendments.[6] The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Commons on 25 June 1828.[9]
The bill was granted royal assent on 27 June 1828.[6]
Section 1 of the act repealed acts from 1225 (9 Hen. 3. c. 26) to 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 114).[11] Beside repealing, simplifying and consolidating the statute law, the act contained changes to the law.[12]
Section 2 of the act abolished the distinctive offence of petty treason, providing that petty treason should be treated as murder.[11]
Section 11 of the act extended the provisions in Lord Ellenborough's Act (43 Geo. 3. c. 58), removing the requirement that an offensive weapon must be used in the commission of a violent offense, so that murder by drowning, suffocation or strangulation were now considered just as serious as murder by shooting, stabbing or poisoning. For the first time, all acts of attempted murder were categorized and treated as equivalent crimes of violence by the degree of harm done to the victim, rather than by the narrower scope of whether a specific offensive weapon had been used. This consolidation put the focus on the unacceptability of the violence itself, and not just the real or potential physical injuries that resulted.[13]
Section 14 of the act made the concealment of the birth of a child a misdemeanour, whether by a single or married woman.[12]
Section 15 of the act extended the crime of bestiality to "animals", not "beasts", therefore including birds or reptiles.[12]
Section 18 of the act removed the requirement for victims of rape to prove ejaculation.[12]
Section 19 of the act made the forcible abduction of women with intent to marry (as opposed to actual marriage) a felony and increased the penalty for abduction of a girl under 16 to such a fine or imprisonment as the Court shall award (as opposed to only two years or a fine under the Abduction Act 1557 (4 & 5 P. & M. c. 8)[12]
The act also made assault a serious and more easily prosecutable crime.[12][14] Prior to the act, society tolerated a degree of violence such as duelling, and what was considered to be the male right to physically discipline a spouse, children, and anyone of a lower social order, such as servants. Due to the costs of prosecution, which fell to the victim and could only be recouped on conviction, very few assault cases were brought to trial; they were usually seen as private matters to be resolved before, or mediated by a magistrate during, the process.[15]
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".[13] The act was significant in categorising punishments for interpersonal violence by harm instead of means, for example in equating all acts of attempted murder.[14]
Under the Offences Against the Person act 1828, several sections pertained to the crime of rape. The penalty for being convicted of rape was still death, and remained so until 1841. The act also made it a felony punishable by death to carnally know a girl under the age of ten. Carnally knowing a girl over the age of ten and under the age of twelve was a misdemeanour punishable with imprisonment with the option of hard labour for a term to be determined by the court.
The act also affirmed that proof of penetration was sufficient to reach the conclusion that one person had had carnal knowledge of another; before the 1828 statute, victims of rape had to prove that the perpetrator ejaculated. Historian Anna Clark has argued that medical experts used ejaculation as proof of rape because it was tangible evidence that reduced the need for a victim's testimony.[16] Clark also contends that requiring proof of ejaculation allowed judges and magistrates to ask victims humiliating and explicit questions.[16] By changing the definition of carnal knowledge from ejaculation to proof of penetration, the 1828 act made it a little easier for victims to prosecute their rapists.[16] Records show that from 1828 to 1841, 63 defendants accused of rape were tried at the Old Bailey.[16] Of those 63 defendants, 16 were found guilty and 12 were sentenced to death. Three had their sentences reduced to imprisonment, and one had his judgment respited altogether.[16]
The act and its focus on interpersonal violence also had the effect of increasing formal accusations of domestic violence, by reducing the stigma surrounding such activity and diminishing judicial delays.[14]
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.[2] The Board issued three reports, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform.
In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law.[2] The Commission made four reports. Recommendations made by the Commission were implemented by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64).
On 17 February 1860, the Attorney General, Sir Richard Bethell told the House of Commons that he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time.[2]
In 1861, bills were introduced to consolidate and modernise the criminal law, drafted by Charles Sprengel Greaves across:[17]
In 1861, the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts were passed:
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).[18]
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.[19]
I.e., part of section 6 to section 18.
I.e., sections 10, 13, 16 and 22.
I.e., section 3.
I.e., section 9.
I.e., section 18.
I.e., section 8.
I.e., section 6.
I.e., part of sections 1 and 2.
I.e., part of section 12.
I.e., except sections 9 and 10.
I.e., section 11.
I.e., section 2.
I.e., part of section 1 and 2.
I.e., section 1.
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