Piracy Act 1698

The Piracy Act 1698^[1]

Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for the more effectuall Suppression of Piracy.[2]
Statute book chapter	11 Will 3 c 7
Status:

The Piracy Act 1698 (11 Will 3 c 7) was an Act of the Parliament of England passed in the eleventh year of William III. The long title of the Act is "An Act for the more effectuall Suppressions of Piracy". ^[3]

It altered the Offences at Sea Act 1536, to say that "all piracies, felonies, and robberies committed in or upon the sea, or in any haven, river, creek, or place, where the admiral or admirals have power, authority, or jurisdiction, may be examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged, according to the directions of this Act, in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories, to be appointed for that purpose by the King’s commission or commissions under the great seal of England, or the seal of the admiralty of England, directed to all or any of the admirals, viceadmirals, reer-admirals, judges of vice-admiralties, or commanders of any of his majesty’s ships of war, and also to all or any such person or persons, officer or officers, by name, or for the time being, as his majesty shall think fit to appoint;" - in other words, pirates could be tried other than in England, due to the "great trouble and charges in sending them into England to be tried within the realm".

It also added the death penalty for subjects committing piracy or robbery upon other subjects whilst under the colours of a "foreign prince or state", or for being an accessory to piracy; and added some new offences including deserting a ship (forfeiture of all wages) and refusing to "bring home with him again all such of the men which he carried out with him" (three months imprisonment). The death penalty under this Act was abolished by the Piracy Act 1837.

In the United Kingdom, the whole Act was repealed by section 1(1) of, and Group 2 of Part I of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1993.

The Piracy Act 1698 was repealed for the Australian Capital Territory by section 6(1) of, and Part 4.11 of Schedule 4 to, the Statute Law Amendment Act 2002 (No 2).^[4]

See also

• Piracy Act

References

1. ^ The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by section 5 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1948. Due to the repeal of those provisions, it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
2. ^ These words are printed against this Act in the second column of Schedule 2 to the Statute Law Revision Act 1948, which is headed "Title".
3. ^ 'William III, 1698-9: An Act for the more effectuall Suppressions of Piracy. [Chapter VII. Rot. Parl. 11 Gul. III. p. 2. n. 5.]', Statutes of the Realm: volume 7: 1695-1701 (1820), pp. 590-94. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=46966. Date accessed: 16 February 2007.
4. ^ PDF copy

External links

• The Piracy Act 1698, from the ACT legislation register.
• The Piracy Act 1698, as amended, from Legislation.gov.uk.

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