Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for due Process to be had in High Treasons, in Cases of Lunacy or Madness. |
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Citation | 33 Hen. 8. c. 20 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 1 April 1542 |
Repealed | 30 July 1948 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1948 |
Status: Repealed |
The Treason Act 1541 or the Consequences of Attainer for Treason Act 1541 (33 Hen. 8. c. 20) was an Act of the Parliament of England passed in 1542 (acts of Parliament were backdated to the year in which the session of Parliament had begun, rather than the year in which the Act was actually passed). It provided for the trial and punishment of lunatics for high treason. The reason given for passing the Act was given by the Act itself, which stated "it is a thing almost impossible certainly to judge" whether a defendant's madness was real or feigned.