The crime of betrayal of a state or failing to pay proper allegiance to a government or monarch. In the USA, treason is defined and limited in Article III, section (3) of the Constitution, and conviction requires the testimony of at least two witnesses or a confession in open court as well as wrongful intent and an overt act. In the UK the law on treason is governed by the Treason Act (1351), which was redefined in 1795, and comprises a large number of unlawful activities, including plotting the sovereign's death (conspiring or inciting to kill the monarch) and levying war against the monarch in his or her realm (insurrection). Disloyalty is essential to the crime - the person who commits treason must owe allegiance to the Crown. This includes British subjects, but persons other than British subjects may owe this allegiance. An alien who has accepted the protection of the Crown may also commit treason. Varieties of treasonable activities can include plotting to overthrow the state, insulting a monarch (lèse-majesté), spying, and acting on behalf of an enemy in wartime. The punishment for acts of treason may either be capital punishment or prolonged imprisonment.
| 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 oneself |
| Alcohol or drugs possession |
| Against the state |
| Tax evasion |
| Espionage · Treason |
| Against justice |
| Bribery · Misprision of felony |
| Obstruction · Perjury |
| Inchoate offenses |
| Accessory · Attempt |
| Conspiracy · Incitement |
| Solicitation · Common purpose |
|
Note: Crimes vary by jurisdiction. Not all are listed here. |
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;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 without being granted a parole.
Canada
The Canadian Criminal Code has two degrees of treason, called "high treason" and "treason." However both of these belong to the historical category of high treason, as opposed to petty treason which does not exist in Canadian law.
"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; 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; (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;The penalty for high treason is life imprisonment.
New Zealand
New Zealand has treason laws that are stipulated under the Crimes Act 1961. 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; 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.Very few people have been prosecuted for the act of treason in New Zealand and none have been prosecuted in recent years.
Republic of Ireland
Article 39 of the Constitution of Ireland 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."
United Kingdom
The British law of treason is entirely statutory and has been so since the Treason Act 1351 (25 Edw.
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";Another Act, the Treason Act 1702 (1 Anne stat.
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 counterfeiting the Great Seal of Scotland and the slaying of the Lords of Session and Lords of Justiciary were adjudged treason until 1945.
The penalty for treason was changed from death to a maximum of imprisonment for life in 1998 under the Crime And Disorder Act.
As to who can commit treason, it depends on the ancient notion of allegiance. As such, British citizens (and British subjects who were Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) wherever they may be owe allegiance to the Queen, as do 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 by aliens who - having lived in Britain and gone abroad again - have left behind family and belongings.
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 overt act. 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 1795 made it treason to imprison, restrain or wound the king.
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. Article Three defines treason as levying war against the United States or "in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort," and requires the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act or a confession in open court for conviction. Congress has, at times, passed statutes creating treason-like offense with different names (such as sedition in the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts, or espionage and sabotage in the 1917 Espionage Act) that do not require the testimony of two witnesses and have a much broader definition than Article Three treason. 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;
In the history of the United States there have been fewer than 40 federal prosecutions for treason and even fewer convictions.
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.
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.
Senator Joseph McCarthy referred to "twenty years of treason" (1933–1953, the administrations of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S. (During World War II, when some of this activity occurred, the United States and the USSR were allies in the war against Germany, and the United States and the Soviet Union were never at war.)
Thanks to the opening of Soviet archives in the 1990s, much more has been learned about these rings, which were more widespread than was known at the time. The title phrase comes from a 17th-century epigram by John Harington:
Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason?
For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.
This phrase refers to treason defined as attempting to overthrow the government.
As of October 11, 2006 a federal grand jury has charged American al-Qaeda member Adam Yahiye Gadahn with treason.
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