Treason Act 1586 facts for kids
| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An act concerning errors in records of attainders of high treason. |
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| Citation | 29 Eliz. 1. c. 2 |
The Treason Act 1586 was an important law made in England a long time ago. It was also known as the Errors in Attainders Act 1586. This law was created to deal with a specific problem about people who had been found guilty of high treason, which is a very serious crime against the ruler or country.
The full name of the law was "An act concerning errors in records of attainders of high treason." An "attainder" meant that someone was found guilty of a serious crime like treason. This usually meant they lost their rights and property.
Why This Law Was Needed
The Treason Act 1586 was passed because of problems with old legal records. Sometimes, records of people found guilty of treason were not kept well. They could become damaged, messy, or have mistakes.
Because of these errors, families of people who had been executed for treason might try to get the conviction changed after the person had died. They would argue that the record was faulty. If they succeeded, it could mean their family would get back property or titles that were taken away.
This law was made to stop people from using these record mistakes to overturn old treason convictions. It said that even if the records had errors, the conviction of someone executed for treason could not be reversed by their heirs (their family).
What the Law Did Not Cover
The Treason Act 1586 did not apply to every situation.
- It did not affect any formal request to fix a mistake in a court case (called a "writ of error") that had already been started.
- It also did not change any record that had already been reversed before this law was made.
