Crimes
Classes of crime
Infraction  · Misdemeanor  · Felony
Summary  · Indictable  · Hybrid
Against the person
Assault  · Battery
Extortion  · Harassment
Kidnapping  · Identity theft
(Corporate) Manslaughter
Murder  · Rape
Robbery
Against property
Arson  · Blackmail
Burglary  · Deception
Embezzlement  · False pretenses
Fraud  · Handling
Larceny  · Theft
Vandalism
Against the public order
Drug possession
Against the state
Tax evasion
Espionage  · Treason
Against justice
Bribery  · Misprision of felony
Obstruction  · Perjury
Malfeasance in office
Inchoate offenses
Accessory  · Attempt
Conspiracy  · Incitement
Solicitation  · Common purpose
Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment Infraction as a general term means a violation of a rule or Local ordinance or regulation promise or obligation A misdemeanor, or misdemeanour, in many common law legal systems is a "lesser" criminal act In Common law legal systems a felony is a serious Crime, often contrasted with a Misdemeanor. A summary offense, also known as a petty crime, is a criminal act in some Common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded with summarily without the right In many Common law Jurisdictions (eg the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, United States, India, A hybrid offence, dual offence, Crown option offence, dual procedure offence, or wobbler are the special class offences in the Common law Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Extortion, outwresting, or exaction is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person Unlawfully obtains either money property or services Harassment refers to a wide spectrum of offensive behaviour The term commonly refers to behaviour intended to disturb or upset and when the term is used in a legal sense it refers In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment Identity theft is a term used to refer to Fraud that involves stealing money or getting other benefits by pretending to be someone else Corporate manslaughter is a Crime in several Jurisdictions It enables a Corporation to be punished and censured for culpable conduct that leads to a person's Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual Blackmail is the crime of threatening to reveal substantially true information about a person to the public a family member or associates unless a demand made upon the Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets usually financial in nature by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted False pretenses or obtaining property by false pretenses is a Common law Crime in the United States, where its statutory forms handle situations not covered In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual In English Criminal law, handling takes place after the Theft is completed and is committed by a fence or other person who helps the thief to realise In the United States, larceny is a Common law Crime involving Theft. In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given Vandalism is the behaviour attributed to the Vandals in respect of Culture: ruthless Destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or Venerable For relevant case law see Public order crime case law in the United States In Criminology public order crime is defined by Siegel (2004 Drug possession is the Crime of having one or more Illegal drugs in one's possession either for personal use distribution sale or otherwise A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. Tax avoidance is the legal utilization of the Tax regime to one's own advantage in order to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law JUSTICE is a Human rights and law reform organisation based in the United Kingdom. Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person Misprision of felony was an offence under the Common law of England and was classified as a Misdemeanour. The crime of obstruction of justice includes crimes committed by Judges Prosecutors attorneys general, and elected officials in general Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a Malfeasance in office, or official misconduct, is the commission of an Unlawful act done in an official capacity which affects the performance of official duties An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a Crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself the actions must go beyond mere preparation In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act In English Criminal law, incitement is an anticipatory Common law offence and is the act of persuading encouraging instigating pressuring or threatening In the United States, solicitation is a Crime; it is an Inchoate offense that consists of a person offering money or something else of value in order to In Criminal law, the doctrine of common purpose, common design or joint enterprise refers to the situation where two or more people embark on a project In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority Not all are listed here.

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or nation. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment This page is about loyalty as faithfulness to a cause For its use in business see Loyalty business model or Loyalty Marketing. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife (treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a lesser superior was petit treason). See also Treason, High treason in the United Kingdom High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country Petty treason or petit treason was in English common law, any betrayal of a superior by a subordinate A person who commits treason is known as a traitor.

Oran's Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason as: ". . . [a]. . . citizen's actions to help a foreign government overthrow, make war against, or seriously injure the [parent nation]. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units " In many nations, it is also often considered treason to attempt or conspire to overthrow the government, even if no foreign country is aided or involved by such an endeavour.

Outside legal spheres, the word "traitor" may also be used to describe a person who betrays (or is accused of betraying) their own political party, nation, family, friends, ethnic group, religion, social class, or other group to which they may belong. Betrayal, a form of Deception or dismissal of prior presumptions is the breaking or violation of a presumptive Social contract ( trust, or Confidence A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more beings A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. Often, such accusations are controversial and disputed, as the person may not identify with the group of which they are a member, or may otherwise disagree with the group leaders making the charge. See, for example, race traitor. Race traitor is a pejorative reference to a person who is perceived as supporting attitudes or positions thought to be against the interests or well-being of their own race

At times, the term "traitor" has been levelled as a political epithet, regardless of any verifiable treasonable action. An epithet (from Greek ἐπίθετον - epitheton, neut of ἐπίθετος - epithetos, "attributed added" is a In a civil war or insurrection, the winners may deem the losers to be traitors. A civil war is a War between a State and domestic political actors that are in control of some part of the territory claimed by the state An insurgency is a violent internal uprising against a sovereign government that lacks the organization of a revolution Likewise the term "traitor" is used in heated political discussion – typically as a slur against political dissidents, or against officials in power who are perceived as failing to act in the best interest of their constituents. Terms of disparagement are Pejorative Words and Phrases which are either intended to be or are often regarded as insulting impolite or unkind Political dissent refers to any expression designed to convey dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body In certain cases, as with the German Dolchstoßlegende, the accusation of treason towards a large group of people can be a unifying political message. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The stab-in-the-back legend ( German:, literally "Dagger stab legend" refers to a social Myth theory popular in Germany in the period after

Murder is now generally considered the worst of crimes, but in the past, treason was thought of as worse. In English law high treason was punishable by being hanged, drawn and quartered (men) or burnt at the stake (women), the only crime which attracted those penalties (until the Treason Act 1814). English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the See also Treason, High treason in the United Kingdom High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country To be hanged drawn and quartered was the penalty once ordained in England for the crime of High treason. Execution by burning has a long history as a method of Punishment for Crimes such as Treason, Heresy and Witchcraft The Treason Act 1814 (citation 54 Geo III c 146 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which modified the penalty for Treason for male convicts The penalty was used by later monarchs against people who could reasonably be called traitors, although most modern jurists would call it excessive. Many of them would now just be considered dissidents. A dissident, broadly defined is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine policy or institution

In Shakespeare's play King Lear (c. William Shakespeare ( baptised King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606 and is considered one of his greatest works 1600), when the King learns that his daughter Regan has publicly dishonoured him, he says They could not, would not do 't; 'tis worse than murder: a conventional attitude at that time. In Dante's Inferno, the lowest circles of Hell are reserved for traitors; Judas, who betrayed Jesus, suffers the worst torments of all. The Divine Comedy Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering Judas Iscariot, יהודה איש־קריות Yəhûḏāh ʾΚ-qəriyyôṯ was according to the New Testament, one of the twelve original apostles Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) His treachery is in fact so notorious that his name has long been synonymous with traitor, a fate he shares with Benedict Arnold, Brutus, and Quisling. Benedict Arnold V ( – June 14, 1801) was a General during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Marcus Junius Brutus (85&ndash42 BC or Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus was a Roman senator of the late Roman Republic. Vidkun Abraham Lauritz Jonssøn Quisling (18 July 1887 – 24 October 1945 was a Norwegian army Officer and politician

Australia

The Australian Criminal Code defines treason as follows:

"A person commits an offence, called treason, if the person:

(a) causes the death of the Sovereign, the heir apparent of the Sovereign, the consort of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(b) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister resulting in the death of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(c) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister, or imprisons or restrains the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or

(d) levies war, or does any act preparatory to levying war, against the Commonwealth; or

(e) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist, an enemy:

(i) at war with the Commonwealth, whether or not the existence of a state of war has been declared; and

(ii) specified by Proclamation made for the purpose of this paragraph to be an enemy at war with the Commonwealth; or

(f) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist:

(i) another country; or

(ii) an organisation;

that is engaged in armed hostilities against the Australian Defence Force; or

(g) instigates a person who is not an Australian citizen to make an armed invasion of the Commonwealth or a Territory of the Commonwealth; or

(h) forms an intention to do any act referred to in a preceding paragraph and manifests that intention by an overt act. " [2]

A person is not guilty of treason under paragraphs (e), (f) or (h) if their assistance or intended assistance is purely humanitarian in nature.

The penalty for treason is life imprisonment. Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime often for most

Canada

Section 46 of the Criminal Code of Canada has two degrees of treason, called "high treason" and "treason. The Criminal Code of Canada (long title An Act respecting the criminal law, R " However both of these belong to the historical category of high treason, as opposed to petty treason which does not exist in Canadian law. See also Treason, High treason in the United Kingdom High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country Petty treason or petit treason was in English common law, any betrayal of a superior by a subordinate Section 46 reads as follows:

"High treason

(1) Every one commits high treason who, in Canada,

(a) kills or attempts to kill Her Majesty, or does her any bodily harm tending to death or destruction, maims or wounds her, or imprisons or restrains her;

(b) levies war against Canada or does any act preparatory thereto; or

(c) assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.

Treason

(2) Every one commits treason who, in Canada,

(a) uses force or violence for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Canada or a province;

(b) without lawful authority, communicates or makes available to an agent of a state other than Canada, military or scientific information or any sketch, plan, model, article, note or document of a military or scientific character that he knows or ought to know may be used by that state for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or defence of Canada;

(c) conspires with any person to commit high treason or to do anything mentioned in paragraph (a);

(d) forms an intention to do anything that is high treason or that is mentioned in paragraph (a) and manifests that intention by an overt act; or

(e) conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) or forms an intention to do anything mentioned in paragraph (b) and manifests that intention by an overt act. "

It is also illegal for a Canadian citizen to do any of the above outside Canada.

The penalty for high treason is life imprisonment. The penalty for treason is imprisonment up to a maximum of life, or up to 14 years for conduct under subsection (2)(b) or (e) in peacetime.

France

Article 411-1 of the French Penal Code defines treason as follows:

"The acts defined by articles 411-2 to 411-11 constitute treason where they are committed by a French national or a soldier in the service of France, and constitute espionage where they are committed by any other person. "

Article 411-2 prohibits "handing over troops belonging to the French armed forces, or all or part of the national territory, to a foreign power, to a foreign organisation or to an organisation under foreign control, or to their agents". It is punishable by life imprisonment and a fine of 750,000 euros. Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e Generally parole is not available until 18 years of a life sentence have elapsed. [3]

Articles 411-3 to 411-10 define various other crimes of collaboration with the enemy, sabotage, and the like. These are punishable with imprisonment for between thirty and seven years. Article 411-11 make it a crime to incite any of the above crimes.

Besides treason and espionage, there are many other crimes dealing with national security, insurrection, terrorism and so on. These are all to be found in Book IV of the Code.

Germany

Section 81 of the German criminal code states that:

"Whoever undertakes with force or through threat of force:

1. The modern German legal system is a system of Law which is grounded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of to undermine the continued existence of the Federal Republic of Germany; or

2. to change the constitutional order based on the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany"

is guilty of treason. It is punishable with life imprisonment.

Section 82 defines treason against a German state. Germany (Deutschland is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen States, known in German as Länder (singular

Ireland

Article 39 of the Constitution of Ireland (adopted in 1937) states that "treason shall consist only in levying war against the State, or assisting any State or person or inciting or conspiring with any person to levy war against the State, or attempting by force of arms or other violent means to overthrow the organs of government established by the Constitution, or taking part or being concerned in or inciting or conspiring with any person to make or to take part or be concerned in any such attempt. The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann came into force on 29 December 1937 after having been passed by a national plebiscite the previous July " [4]

The Treason Act 1939 gave legislative effect to Article 39, and provided for the imposition of the death penalty on persons convicted of committing treason within the state and on citizens convicted of committing treason against Ireland outside of the state. The Act also created the ancillary offences of encouraging, harbouring and comforting persons guilty of treason, and the offence of misprision of treason. No person has been charged under this Act.

The Criminal Justice Act 1990 removed the death penalty for treason, setting the punishment at life imprisonment, with parole in not less than forty years. [5]

For other offences against national security, see the Offences against the State Acts 1939-1998. The Offences Against the State Act 1939-1998 form a series of laws passed by the Irish Parliament relating to the suppression of Terrorism.

Before 1937

Section 1(1) of the Treasonable Offences Act 1925 (enacted under the 1922 Constitution) defined treason as:

(a) levying war against Saorstát Éireann, or

(b) assisting any state or person engaged in levying war against Saorstát Éireann, or

(c) conspiring with any person (other than his or her wife or husband) or inciting any person to levy war against Saorstát Éireann, or

(d) attempting or taking part or being concerned in an attempt to overthrow by force of arms or other violent means the Government of Saorstát Éireann as established by or under the Constitution, or

(e) conspiring with any person (other than his or her wife or husband) or inciting any person to make or to take part or be concerned in any such attempt. The Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann (1922&ndash1937 was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by [6]

The maximum punishment was death. The Act also defined the offences of misprision of treason and of encouraging, harbouring, or comforting any person engaged in levying Saorstát Éireann or engaged, taking part, or concerned in any attempt to overthrow by force of arms or other violent means the Government of Saorstát Éireann as established by or under the Constitution of 1922.

The Treasonable Offences Act 1925 was the first comprehensive and permanent measure designed to deal with offences against the state. Section 3 reenacted portions of the Treason Felony Act 1848, while sections 4 and 5 dealt, respectively, with the usurpation of executive authority and assemblies pretending to parliamentary functions. The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (11 & 12 Vict Section 6 prohibited the formation of pretended military or police forces and section 7 proscribed unauthorised drilling.

Although Gardaí prosecuted a number of persons under section 1. ga '''''Garda Síochána na hÉireann''''' (ˈgaːrdə ʃiːˈxaːnə nə ˈheːɾʲən Irish for "Peace Guard of Ireland" often rendered 1(d) in 1925 and 1926, the Minister for Justice, Kevin O'Higgins, believed that such serious charges were not 'desirable in the present conditions'. Kevin Christopher O'Higgins (Caoimhín Críostóir Ó hUigín 7 June 1892 &ndash 10 July 1927 was an Irish politician who served as Vice-President of the Executive Council Rather more bluntly, in March 1930 Eoin O'Duffy, the Garda Commissioner, wrote that the prospect of charging IRA members with 'levying war against the State' or with usurping executive authority would make a 'laughing stock' of the Gardaí. Eoin O'Duffy (Eoin Ó Dubhthaigh 20 October 1892 – 30 November 1944 was in succession a Teachta Dála (TD the Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army

Before Irish independence, treason was governed under the laws of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Many historical Irish nationalist insurgents now considered heroes or freedom fighters in contemporary Ireland were executed for treason against the British or English Crown.

New Zealand

New Zealand has treason laws that are stipulated under the Crimes Act 1961. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Section 73 of the Crimes Act reads as follows:

"Every one owing allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen in right of New Zealand commits treason who, within or outside New Zealand,—

(a) Kills or wounds or does grievous bodily harm to Her Majesty the Queen, or imprisons or restrains her; or

(b) Levies war against New Zealand; or

(c) Assists an enemy at war with New Zealand, or any armed forces against which New Zealand forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between New Zealand and any other country; or

(d) Incites or assists any person with force to invade New Zealand; or

(e) Uses force for the purpose of overthrowing the Government of New Zealand; or

(f) Conspires with any person to do anything mentioned in this section. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II TalkCommonewalth realm.--> New Zealand The politics of New Zealand takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Monarchy. " [7]

The penalty is life imprisonment, except that the maximum for conspiracy is 14 years. Treason was the last capital crime in New Zealand law, with the death penalty not being revoked until 1989, years after it was abolished for murder. Capital punishment in New Zealand first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British territory in 1840 and was first employed in in 1842 Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries

Very few people have been prosecuted for the act of treason in New Zealand and none have been prosecuted in recent years. [8]

Russia

Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia [9] defines treason as "espionage, disclosure of state secrets, or any other assistance rendered to a foreign State, a foreign organization, or their representatives in hostile activities to the detriment of the external security of the Russian Federation, committed by a citizen of the Russian Federation. The Russian Criminal Code is the prime source of Law of the Russian Federation concerning criminal offences Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending " The sentence is imprisonment for 12 to 20 years. It is not a capital offence, even though murder and some aggravated forms of attempted murder are (although Russia currently has a moratorium on the death penalty).

Subsequent sections provide for further offences against state security, such as armed rebellion and forcible seizure of power.

Switzerland

According to article 265 of the Swiss Criminal Code,^[1] high treason consists of attempting to violently do one of the following: change the federal or a cantonal constitution, remove the constitutional authorities of the state or prevent them from exercising their office, or separate territory from the confederation or a canton. The Federal Constitution of 18 April 1999 (Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse Constituzione federale della Confederazione Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. It is punishable by imprisonment for not less than one year.

United Kingdom

Main article: High treason in the United Kingdom

The British law of treason is entirely statutory and has been so since the Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw. Under British law high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the Sovereign amounting to an intention to undermine their authority or the actual attempt to do so A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. Main article High treason in the United Kingdom The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England (25 Edw 3 St. 5 c. 2). The Act is written in Norman French, but is more commonly cited in its English translation. Norman is a Romance language and one of the Oïl languages. The northern Norman can be classified in the septentrional Oil languages with Picard and

The Treason Act 1351 has since been amended several times, and currently provides for four categories of treasonable offences, namely:

• "when a man doth compass or imagine the death of our lord the King, or of our lady his Queen or of their eldest son and heir";
• "if a man do violate the King’s companion, or the King’s eldest daughter unmarried, or the wife of the King’s eldest son and heir";^[2]
• "if a man do levy war against our lord the King in his realm, or be adherent to the King’s enemies in his realm, giving to them aid and comfort in the realm, or elsewhere"; and
• "if a man slea the chancellor, treasurer, or the King’s justices of the one bench or the other, justices in eyre, or justices of assise, and all other justices assigned to hear and determine, being in their places, doing their offices". The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom.

Another Act, the Treason Act 1702 (1 Anne stat. The Treason Act 1702 (1 Anne stat 2 c 21 is an Act of the Parliament of England, passed to enforce the line of succession to the English throne 2 c. 21), provides for a fifth category of treason, namely:

• "if any person or persons . . . shall endeavour to deprive or hinder any person who shall be the next in succession to the crown . . . from succeeding after the decease of her Majesty (whom God long preserve) to the imperial crown of this realm and the dominions and territories thereunto belonging".

By virtue of the Treason Act 1708, the law of treason in Scotland is the same as the law in England, save that in Scotland the slaying of the Lords of Session and Lords of Justiciary and counterfeiting the Great Seal of Scotland remain treason under sections 11 and 12 of the Treason Act 1708 respectively. The Treason Act 1708 (7 Ann c 21 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which harmonised the law of High treason between the former kingdoms of England Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. The Senators of the College of Justice, also known as the Lords of Council and Session and as the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, are the judges of the Court The Senators of the College of Justice, also known as the Lords of Council and Session and as the Lords Commissioners of Justiciary, are the judges of the Court The Great Seal of Scotland ( Seala Mòr na h-Alba in Gaelic) allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually [10] Treason is a reserved matter about which the Scottish Parliament is prohibited from legislating. For other meanings see Reserved powers disambiguation page In the United Kingdom reserved matters, also referred to as reserved The Scottish Parliament ( Scottish Gaelic: Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Scottish Pairlament) is the devlolved national unicameral Two acts of the former Parliament of Ireland passed in 1537 and 1542 create further treasons which apply in Northern Ireland. The Parliament of Ireland (Irish Parlaimint na hEireann) was a Legislature that existed from mediæval times until 1800. The Treason Act (Ireland 1537 (28 Hen 8 c 7 long title An Act of Slander) is an Act of the former Parliament of Ireland which adds several The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 is an Act of the Parliament of Ireland (33 Hen 8 c Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of

The penalty for treason was changed from death to a maximum of imprisonment for life in 1998 under the Crime And Disorder Act. The Treason Act 1814 (citation 54 Geo III c 146 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which modified the penalty for Treason for male convicts Before 1998, the death penalty was mandatory, subject to the royal prerogative of mercy. A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it Since the abolition of the death penalty for murder in 1965 an execution for treason was unlikely to be carried out. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

Treason laws were used against Irish insurgents before Irish independence. However, IRA and other republican guerrillas were not prosecuted or executed for treason for levying war against the British government during the Troubles. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Óglaigh na hÉireann ( IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic They, along with loyalist militants, were jailed for murder, violent crimes or terrorist offences. Ulster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion

William Joyce was the last person to be put to death for treason, in 1946. William Joyce ( 24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946) the man generally associated with the nickname Lord Haw-Haw (On the following day Theodore Schurch was executed for treachery, a similar crime, and was the last man to be executed for a crime other than murder in the UK. Theodore William John Schurch ( May 5, 1918 - January 4, 1946) was an Anglo - Swiss soldier who was the last person to The Treachery Act 1940 (3 & 4 Geo VI c 40 was a British law created during World War II to prosecute and execute enemy spies. )

As to who can commit treason, it depends on the ancient notion of allegiance. An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed by a subject or a Citizen to his/her state or sovereign. As such, all British nationals (but not other Commonwealth citizens) owe allegiance to the Queen in right of the United Kingdom wherever they may be, as do Commonwealth citizens and aliens present in the United Kingdom at the time of the treasonable act (except diplomats and foreign invading forces), those who hold a British passport however obtained, and aliens who - having lived in Britain and gone abroad again - have left behind family and belongings. United Kingdom national (less formally British national) is a term used differently in various United Kingdom Acts of Parliament. A Commonwealth citizen, formerly known as a British subject, is generally a person who is a national of any country within the Commonwealth of Nations.

See also the Treason Felony Act 1848. The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (11 & 12 Vict

International influence

The Treason Act 1695 enacted, among other things, a rule that treason could be proved only in a trial by the evidence of two witnesses to the same offence. The Treason Act 1695 is an Act of the Parliament of England (citation 7 & 8 Will Nearly one hundred years later this rule was incorporated into the U.S. Constitution, which requires two witnesses to the same overt act. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. It also provided for a three year time limit on bringing prosecutions for treason (except for assassinating the king), another rule which has been imitated in some common law countries. The Treason Act 1661 made it treason to imprison, restrain or wound the king. The Treason Act 1661 (13 Car 2 c 1 was an Act of the Parliament of England, although it was extended to Scotland in 1708 Although this law was abolished in the United Kingdom in 1998, it still continues to apply in some Commonwealth countries.

United States

To avoid the abuses of the English law (including executions by Henry VIII of those who criticized his repeated marriages), treason was specifically defined in the United States Constitution, the only crime so defined. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. Article III Section 3 delineates treason as follows:

Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. Article Three of the United States Constitution establishes the Judicial branch of the federal government. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. In English Criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious Capital In English Criminal law, attainder or attinctura is the metaphorical 'stain' or 'corruption of blood' which arises from being condemned for a serious Capital

However, Congress has, at times, passed statutes creating related offenses which undermine the government or the national security, (such as sedition in the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, or espionage and sedition in the 1917 Espionage Act) which do not require the testimony of two witnesses and have a much broader definition than Article Three treason. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses This is about the law term For other uses see Sedition (disambiguation Sedition is a term of Law which refers to covert conduct The Alien and Sedition Acts were four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the United States Congress —who were waging an undeclared naval war with France This is about the law term For other uses see Sedition (disambiguation Sedition is a term of Law which refers to covert conduct The Espionage Act of 1917 was a United States federal law passed shortly after entering World War I on June 15 1917 which made it a Crime for a person For example, some well-known spies have been convicted of espionage rather than treason.

The Constitution does not itself create the offense; it only restricts the definition. The crime is prohibited by legislation passed by Congress. The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Therefore the United States Code at 18 U.S.C. § 2381 states "whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States. The United States Code ( USC) is a compilation and Codification of the general and permanent federal Law of the United States. Title 18 of the United States Code is the Criminal and Penal code of the Federal government of the United States. " The requirement of testimony of two witnesses was inherited from the British Treason Act 1695. The Treason Act 1695 is an Act of the Parliament of England (citation 7 & 8 Will

In the history of the United States there have been fewer than 40 federal prosecutions for treason and even fewer convictions. Several men were convicted of treason in connection with the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion but were pardoned by President George Washington. The Whiskey Rebellion, less commonly known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a popular uprising that had its beginnings in 1791 and culminated in an insurrection in 1794 in the George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the The most famous treason trial, that of Aaron Burr in 1807 (See Burr conspiracy), resulted in acquittal. This article discusses Aaron Burr (1756-1836 the US politician The Burr conspiracy was a suspected treasonous Cabal of planters, Politicians and army officers led by former U Politically motivated attempts to convict opponents of the Jeffersonian Embargo Acts and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 all failed. The Embargo Act " was a series of laws passed by the Congress of the United States between the years 1806-1808 during the second term of President Thomas The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of Most states have provisions in their constitutions or statutes similar to those in the U. S. Constitution. There have been only two successful prosecutions for treason on the state level, that of Thomas Dorr in Rhode Island and that of John Brown in Virginia. Thomas Wilson Dorr ( November 5, 1805 &ndash December 27, 1854) American Politician and Reformer, known for Rhode Island ( officially named the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is a state in the New England region of the United States John Brown (May 9 1800 December 2 1859 was an American Abolitionist who advocated and practiced armed Insurrection as a means to end all Slavery The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state

After the American Civil War, no person involved with the Confederate States of America was tried for treason, though a number of leading Confederates (including Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee) were indicted. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) formed as the government set up from 1861 Jefferson Finis Davis ( June 3, 1808 &ndash December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Robert Edward Lee (January 19 1807 &ndash October 12 1870 was a career United States Army officer, an Engineer, and among the most celebrated Those who had been indicted received a blanket amnesty issued by President Andrew Johnson as he left office in 1869. Andrew Johnson (December 29 1808 – July 31 1875 was the seventeenth President of the United States (1865-69 succeeding to the Presidency upon the assassination

Several people generally thought of as traitors in the United States, including Jonathan Pollard, the Walker Family, Robert Soblen, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were not prosecuted for treason, but rather for espionage. Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954 in Galveston, Texas) is a convicted Israeli Spy and a former United States John Anthony Walker Jr (born July 28 1937 in Washington DC) is a former Warrant Officer and communications specialist for the U Dr Robert Soblen ( November 7, 1900 – September 11, 1962) was a Lithuanian born psychiatrist and reputed Soviet spy Julius Rosenberg (May 12 1918 &ndash June 19 1953 and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (September 28 1915 &ndash June 19 1953 were American Communists who were executed John Walker Lindh, an American citizen who fought for the Taliban against the U. John Phillip Walker Lindh (born February 9, 1981) is an American who was captured during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan while serving The Taliban ( طالبان, also anglicised as Taleban; translation "students" is a Sunni Islamist, predominately S. -supported Northern Alliance, was convicted of conspiracy to murder U. S. nationals rather than treason.

The Cold War saw frequent associations between treason and support for (or insufficient hostility toward) Communist-backed causes. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based The most memorable of these came from Senator Joseph McCarthy, who characterized the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman administrations as "twenty years of treason. Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14 1908 – May 2 1957 was an American politician who served as a Republican U " McCarthy also investigated various government agencies for Soviet spy rings; however, he acted as a political fact-finder rather than criminal prosecutor. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Despite such rhetoric, the Cold War period saw few prosecutions for treason.

On October 11, 2006, a federal grand jury issued the first indictment for treason against the United States since 1952, charging Adam Yahiye Gadahn for videos in which he spoke supportively of al-Qaeda. Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Adam Yahiye Gadahn (آدم يحيى غدن born Adam Pearlman, September 1 1978 is an American -born English -speaking senior operative cultural interpreter Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida, al-Qa`ida or al-Qa`idah, ( Arabic:; ar-Latn ''al-qāʿidah'' Translation: The

List of people convicted by country

Main article: List of people convicted of treason

Related offences

There are a number of other crimes short of treason which are concerned with protecting the state:

• Misprision of treason is a crime consisting of the concealment of treason. This is a list of people convicted of treason. Some countries such as the U Misprision of treason is an offence found in many Common law jurisdictions around the world having been inherited from English law
• Sedition is inciting civil unrest or insurrection, or undermining the government. This is about the law term For other uses see Sedition (disambiguation Sedition is a term of Law which refers to covert conduct
• Lèse majesté is insulting a head of state and is a crime in some countries. Lèse majesté ( French expression from the Latin Laesa maiestas or Laesae maiestatis (crimen, (crime of injury to the Majesty in English Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state
• Espionage or spying.
• Defection, or leaving the country, is regarded in some communist countries (especially during the Cold War) as disloyal to the state. In Politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the
• Treason felony, a British offence tantamount to treason. The Treason Felony Act 1848 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (11 & 12 Vict

See also

• Fifth column
• Collaboration during World War II
• Hanjian, a Chinese term for traitor. A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal such as a Nation. During World War II Nazi Germany occupied all or parts of the following countries Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, In Chinese culture, a Hanjian ( is a highly derogatory and Pejorative term for a Traitor, especially to the Han Chinese ethnicity

Further reading

• Elaine Shannon and Ann Blackman, The Spy Next Door : The Extraordinary Secret Life of Robert Philip Hanssen, The Most Damaging FBI Agent in US History, Little, Brown and Company, 2002, ISBN 0-316-71821-1
• Ben-Yehuda, Nachman, "Betrayals and Treason. Violations of trust and Loyalty. " Westview Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8133-9776-6
• Ó Longaigh, Seosamh, "Emergency Law in Independent Ireland, 1922-1948", Four Courts Press, Dublin 2006 ISBN 1-85182-922-9

References

External links

• British Treason Law