Mutiny Acts

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The Mutiny Acts were an almost 200-year series of annual Acts passed by the Parliament of England, the Parliament of Great Britain, and the Parliament of the United Kingdom for governing, regulating, provisioning, and funding the English and later British Army.

The first Mutiny Act was passed in 1689 in response to the mutiny of a large portion of the army which stayed loyal to James II upon William III taking the crown of England.[1] The Mutiny Act, altered in 1803, and the Articles of War defined the nature and punishment of mutiny until the latter were replaced by the .[2] This, in turn, was replaced by An Act to consolidate the Army Discipline and Regulation Act, 1879, and the subsequent Acts amending the Same, to be known as The Army Act in 1881.[3] This was extended or amended or consolidated annually (the most recent update having been made in 1995). Today, mutiny by British forces is punished under the Armed Forces Act 2006.

Depending on events, additions, and changes within the established system more than one Mutiny Act might be passed within a given year. Within the empire specific geographical disturbances were sometimes governed by specific Acts, such as the Mutiny, East Indies Act 1754 (27 Geo 2 c 9), or the Mutiny, America Act from 1765 (5 Geo 3 c 33) to 1776 (16 Geo 3 c 11). A closely related series of Marine Mutiny Acts starting in 1755 (28 Geo 2 c 11) would regulate His Majesty's Marine Forces while on shore, and continue well into the 19th century.

Background[]

During the Middle Ages, European rulers applied the same laws to both civilian and military populations.[4] Because of this, military law (law governing armed forces) and martial law (control of society by the military) were not independent legal approaches. Rulers began separating the laws governing the civilian population and the laws for the armed forces as the medieval period drew to a close.[5]

In England, William the Conqueror's Aural Regis (or King's Court) assisted him in ruling both his armed forces and the English population. Over time, this court divided and developed specialized legal expertise. King Edward I created a Court of Chivalry headed by the Lord High Constable and the Earl Marshal, two members of the King's Court.[6][7] This Court of Chivalry was given authority over cases of military law, chivalry, heraldry, and murder or high treason overseas.[8] The army was seen as the crown's personal force. Its governance, as a military force, was the crown's royal prerogative. The crown governed the military by publishing articles of war. These articles applied to the army during a specific war or campaign.[9] The Court of Chivalry assisted the crown by preparing these articles and enforcing them. Therefore, military law could and would change depending on the campaign or war. Although harsh, the articles were clear in their expectations for military personnel.

Meanwhile, courts of equity and courts of common law developed and were given authority to govern civilians. Common law did not have rules specific to military forces and common law courts could not apply military rules. However, prior to the Petition of Right, and especially during the reign of the Tudors and Stuarts, the crown would applied articles of war (which defined the military law) against civilians in Britain in trials administered by courts-martial (an exercise of martial law). The capricious use of harsh military law by the crown against civilians included the imposition of the death penalty. The practice of enforcing military law against civilians and the usurpation of common-law courts' authority by courts-martial caused an outcry. The lack of a distinction between military law and martial law caused English legal minds to attack the exercise of military law during peacetime.[10] William Blackstone complained,

For martial law, which is built upon no settled principles, but is entirely arbitrary in its decisions, is, as Sir Matthew Hale observes, in truth and reality no law, but something indulged rather than allowed as a law. The necessity of order and discipline in an army is the only thing which can give it countenance; and therefore it ought not to be permitted in time of peace, when the king’s courts are open for all persons to receive justice according to the laws of the land.[11]

This abuse of the crown's prerogative (the crown's right to make and enforce rules for the military) caused Parliament to pass the Petition of Right in 1628. This Act stated that neither civilians nor soldiers and officers who were in England during peace were subject to military courts or law.[12][13] Only common-law courts and courts of equity could exercise authority over individuals in peacetime England. Because the articles of war did not fall under these court's jurisdiction, military law couldn't be applied to anyone in England, whether soldier or civilian.[14]

Passage of the first Mutiny Act[]

King William III replaced King James II in 1688 during the Glorious Revolution.

The Royal Scots was the only unit in which the majority of personnel remained loyal to James II, whom they held to still be the true monarch. The regiment's Commanding Officer, Colonel George Douglas, 1st Earl of Dumbarton, followed James II into exile and one of William's subordinates, Frederick Schomberg, was appointed Colonel.[15] While awaiting transport from Ipswich to Flanders, the regiment mutinied on 15 March 1689 and marched home (the Kingdom of Scotland still being strictly an independent country), refusing to obey orders from William III to fight in Holland. The mutinous troops were located in England during peacetime so only common law and courts of equity had authority over them. However, these courts' power did not include the ability to enforce penalties against mutiny (which was a military law crime and not a common law crime). Therefore, no legal action could be taken to stop or punish the troops.[16]

Parliament responded by passing the Mutiny Act 1688 (1 Will & Mar c 5 ).[17] This Act made desertion, mutiny, and sedition of officers and soldiers crimes triable by court-martial in peacetime England and made such crimes punishable by death. The passage of this Act initiated the codification of military law in Great Britain.[18] Payment for quartering the troops was first included in the Mutiny Act 1692 (4 Will & Mar c 13).[19]

Renewal of the Mutiny Acts[]

Because the Bill of Rights, while prohibiting the existence of a standing army during peacetime without the consent of Parliament, did not prohibit the same in time of war, the Mutiny Act was expressly limited to one year's duration, so that, in either case, war or peace, military discipline could not be enforced, thereby making a standing army impossible for the crown to maintain. As a result, Parliament annually passed a new Mutiny Act.[20] The Articles of War, published by the crown, continued to govern military forces outside colonies overseas while the Mutiny Acts imposed military law on military forces in peacetime England. Many other changes occurred during this transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, which were "products of the exigencies and opportunities of the quarter century of warfare on the grand scale that commenced with the accession of William and Mary, when England, and then Britain, was able "to set out such Fleets and Armies as were never heard of among our Ancestors.""[21]

A new Mutiny Act was passed each year until 1879.[22] The Mutiny Act was modified early on to allow courts-martial for other military crimes besides mutiny, sedition, and desertion. Modifications to the Mutiny Act allowed courts-martial trial of soldiers for acts prohibited by the Crown’s articles of war, as long as the articles conformed to the Mutiny Act 1718.[23] Civilians who were closely associated to the military, such as victuallers, could also be tried by courts-martial.[24]

In 1807 all serving black soldiers recruited as slaves in the West India Regiments of the British Army were freed under that year's Mutiny Act.[25]

The Quartering Acts[]

The Mutiny Acts 1765 and 1774 are better known as Quartering Acts because of the changes which added quartering requirements for British troops in the American Colonies, beyond what the Army had provided.

List[]

  • The Mutiny Act 1703 (2 & 3 Anne c 20)
  • The Mutiny Act 1842[26] (5 & 6 Vict c 12)
  • The Mutiny Act 1846[27] (9 & 10 Vict c 11)
  • The Mutiny Act 1859[28] (22 Vict c 4)
  • The Mutiny Act 1860[29] (23 & 24 Vict c 9)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1861[31] (24 & 25 Vict c 7)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1862[32] (25 & 26 Vict c 5)[30][33]
  • The Mutiny Act 1863[34] (26 & 27 Vict c 8)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1864[35] (27 & 28 Vict c 3)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1865[36] (28 & 29 Vict c 11)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1866[37] (29 & 30 Vict c 9)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1867[38] (30 & 31 Vict c 13)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1868[39] (31 & 32 Vict c 14)[30]
  • The Mutiny Act 1869[40] (32 & 33 Vict c 4)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1870[42] (33 & 34 Vict c 7)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1871[43] (34 & 35 Vict c 9)[41]
  • The [44] (35 & 36 Vict c 3)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict c 10)
  • The Mutiny Act 1874[45] (37 & 38 Vict c 4)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1875[46] (38 & 39 Vict c 7)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1876[47] (39 & 40 Vict c 8)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1877[48] (40 & 41 Vict c 7)[41]
  • The Mutiny Act 1878[49] (41 & 42 Vict c 10)[41]

Marine Mutiny Acts[]

The Marine Mutiny Acts[50] included the following Acts:

  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1861[51] (24 & 25 Vict c 8)[30]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1864[52] (27 & 28 Vict c 4)[30]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1866[53] (29 & 30 Vict c 10)[30]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1868[54] (31 & 32 Vict c 15)[30]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1869[55] (32 & 33 Vict c 5)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1870[56] (33 & 34 Vict c 8)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1871[57] (34 & 35 Vict c 10)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1872[58] (35 & 36 Vict c 4)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1873[59] (36 & 37 Vict c 11)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1874[60] (37 & 38 Vict c 5)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1876[61] (39 & 40 Vict c 9)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1877[62] (40 & 41 Vict c 8)[41]
  • The Marine Mutiny Act 1878[49] (41 & 42 Vict c 11)[63]

See also[]

References[]

  • Report from the Select Committee on Mutiny and Marine Mutiny Acts. 26 July 1878. (C 316). Reports from Committees. Session 17 January to 16 August 1878. Volume 10. Page 253.
  1. ^ William Winthrop, Military Law and Precedents, 19 (2d ed., Government Printing Office 1920)
  2. ^ Army Discipline and Regulation Act, 1879. Parliament website
  3. ^ The Army. Law Explorer
  4. ^ William Winthrop, 45.
  5. ^ Henry Wager Halleck, Military Tribunals and Their Jurisdiction, Mil. L. Rev. Bicent. Issue 14, 15 (1975). Civilian codes and courts eventually gained power at the expense of military law and control. The first code that specifically regulated military personnel (as opposed to civilians) was the French ordonnance of 1378.
  6. ^ "Edward I", History of the Monarchy, Royal Household at Buckingham Palace, retrieved November 24, 2008
  7. ^ John Stuart-Smith, Military Law: Its History, Administration, and Practice, Mil. L. Rev. Bicent. Issue 24, 28 (1975).
  8. ^ Sir Matthew Hale, The History of the Common Law of England, 26 (Charles M. Grey ed., U. Chi. Press 1971).
  9. ^ William Winthrop, 18.
  10. ^ William Winthrop, 46-47.
  11. ^ William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England vol. I, 413–14 (Garland Publishing 1978).
  12. ^ The English Petition of Right art. VII, 1628, retrieved November 26, 2008
  13. ^ William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England vol. IV, 436–7.
  14. ^ William Winthrop, 14, 46. (The Petition of Right ensured, “[t]hat the exercise of Martial Law, whereby any Person should lose his Life or Member, or Liberty, may not be permitted in Time of Peace, when the King’s Courts are open for all Persons to receive Justice.”)
  15. ^ Cannon, Richard (1847). HISTORICAL RECORDS, OF THE BRITISH ARMY. Comprising the History of every REGIMENT IN HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE: HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE FIRST, OR ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT: CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE REGIMENT IN THE REIGN OF KING JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND, AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES To 1846. London: Parker, Furnivall, & Parker. p. 77.
  16. ^ Fortescue, John (1928). The Empire and The Army. London, Toronto, Melbourne, and Sydney: Cassell and Company Ltd. p. 41.
  17. ^ An Act for punishing Officers or Soldiers who shall Mutiny or Desert Their Majestyes Service.
  18. ^ William Winthrop, 19.
  19. ^ An Act for punishing Officers and Soldiers who shall mutiny or desert Their Majesties Service and for punishing False Musters and for the payment of Quarters.
  20. ^ Henry Wager Halleck, 18-19.
  21. ^ Stephen Foster, Evan Haefeli, Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series: British North America in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, An Overview. DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199206124.003.0002 "additional instances of the efflorescence of institutions and institutionalization generally in the same period, which also comprehended the Bank of England, the National Debt, and a standing army funded by the annual Mutiny Act."
  22. ^ David Glazier, Precedents Lost: The Neglected History of the Military Commission, 46 Va. J. Int’l. L. 5, 12 (2005).
  23. ^ William Winthrop, 20.
  24. ^ British Articles of War of 1765 § VIII, art. I, II.
  25. ^ "Slavery reparations: An historian's view". BBC Caribbean Service. 2007-03-30.
  26. ^ [1835 to 1842] All ER Rep 130 [1] [2]. Richard Glover. Peninsular Prepartion. Cambridge University Press. 1963. p 180. "Mutiny Act": Thomas Frederick Simmons. Remarks on the Constitution and Practice of Courts Martial. Third Edition. 1843. p 385.
  27. ^ Re Petition of Right of T J Tuffnell (1876) 24 The Weekly Reporter 915 at 916; (1876) 34 Law Times Reports (New Series) 838 at 840.
  28. ^ Rudolf Gneist. Das englische Verwaltungsrecht mit Einschluss des Heeres, der Gerichte und der Kirche. Julius Springer. Berlin. 1867. Volume 2. Page 966. Charles Mathew Clode. The Administration of Justice Under Military and Martial Law. Second Edition. John Murray. Albermarle Street, London. 1874. Page 298. "Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1859, London, 1859, p iii.
  29. ^ 41 & 42 Vict c 10 (1878), section 50
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m This Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1875
  31. ^ James Paterson. The Game Laws of the United Kingdom. Shaw and Sons. London. 1861. Page 84
  32. ^ Chalmers and Hood Phillips' Constitutional Laws of Great Britain, the British Empire and Commonwealth. Sixth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. 1946. Page xii.
  33. ^ The Bill for this Act was the Mutiny Bill: see "Mutiny Bill". Index to Hansard's Parliamentary Debates in the Fourth Session of the Eighteenth Parliament of the United Kindom. 25° & 26° Victoria, 1862.
  34. ^ Rama G Vidhu, Court Martial Process: Empirically Studied, Vij Books, New Dehli, 2011, p 50. Civil Judgments - No 111 (1887) 22 The Punjab Record 258 at 265 (December 1887). "Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1863, p iii. See further Simmons, The Constitution and Practice of Courts Martial, 7th Ed, John Murray, 1875, paras 6, 522 & 1014 at pp 5, 222 & 409; "Legislative Dispatch to India", No 29, 23 September 1864, Selections from Despatches Addressed to the Several Governments in India by the Secretary of State in Council, between the 1st January and 31st December 1863, p 109.
  35. ^ Ward v Gray (1865) 1 The Bar Reports 305; 6 Best & Smith 344 or 345; 29 The Justice of the Peace 275 and 470; 34 Law Journal Magistrates Cases 146; 34 Law Journal Queen's Bench 164; 3 Cox's Magistrate Cases 268; 11(1) The Jurist (New Series) 738.
  36. ^ Rudolf Gneist. Das englische Verwaltungsrecht mit Einschluss des Heeres, der Gerichte und der Kirche. Julius Springer. Berlin. 1867. Volume 2. Page 966. "Practical Points" (1866) 30 Justice of the Peace 12 at 14 (6 January 1866). "Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1865. Horace Cox. London. 1865. Page v.
  37. ^ Sydney Hastings. A Treatise on Torts. H Sweet & Sons. London. C F Maxwell. Melbourne and Sydney. Carswell & Co. Toronto. 1885. pp 30 & 31. Footnote (v). ("28 & 29" is a misprint for "29" or "29 & 30"). Colin Frank Padfield. British Constitution Made Simple. 4th Ed. W H Allen. London. September 1977. p 347. Mutiny Act 1866. vLex. Murphy v Fielding and Bacon (1866) 18 Irish Jurist 415. "Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1866. Horace Cox. London. 1866. p iii.
  38. ^ R1A Can Abr (2nd) 364
  39. ^ Charles Mathew Clode. The Military Forces of the Crown. John Murray. Albermarle Street, London. 1869. Volume 2. Page 33.
  40. ^ Charles Mathew Clode. The Military Forces of the Crown. John Murray. Albermarle Street, London. 1869. Volume 2. Pages 24 and 262. "Mutiny Act": William Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1869. p iii.
  41. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q This Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1883
  42. ^ Mutiny Act 1870, vLex. "Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1870, London, 1870, p v. "Mutiny Act of 1870": The Cabinet Lawyer, 23rd Ed, 1871, p 322.
  43. ^ Charles Mathew Clode. The Administration of Justice Under Military and Martial Law. John Murray. Albermarle Street, London. 1872. Page 192. "Mutiny Act": William Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1871. p iii.
  44. ^ Charles Mathew Clode. The Administration of Justice Under Military and Martial Law. John Murray. Albermarle Street, London. 1872. Pages xvi, 186 and 188. Second Annual Report of the Local Government Board. 1872-73. Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode for HMSO. 1873. Appendix to the Second Annual Report of the Local Government Board. p 26.
  45. ^ "Practical Points" (1875) 39 The Justice of the Peace 91 at 93 (6 February 1875).
  46. ^ "Practical Points" (1875) 39 The Justice of the Peace 428 at 430 (3 July 1875).
  47. ^ Craig v Nicholas [1900] 2 QB 444 at 446; (1900) 64 JP 569; (1900) 19 Cox CC 526 at 528.
  48. ^ Saunders, Thomas William. The Law and Practice of Orders of Affiliation, and Proceedings in Bastardy. 7th Ed. 1878. p 103.
  49. ^ a b The Public General Acts of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland passed in the Forty-Second and Forty-Third Years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. Edward Bret Ince for the proprietors of the Law Journal Reports. London. 1879. p 340.
  50. ^ As to the Marine Mutiny Acts generally, see further Clode, The Administration of Justice Under Military and Martial Law, John Murray, London, 1872, para 22 of ch 4 at p 73
  51. ^ James Paterson. The Game Laws of the United Kingdom. Shaw and Sons. London. 1861. Page 85
  52. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1864, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1864, p iii.
  53. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1866, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1866, p iii.
  54. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1868, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1868, p iii.
  55. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1869, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1869, p iii.
  56. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1870, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1870, p iii.
  57. ^ Edward Hertslet (compiler). Index of Subjects to the Twelve Volumes of Treaties and Conventions, and Reciprocal Regulations, at present subsisting between Great Britain and Foreign Powers. Butterworths. London. 1871. p 37. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed). The Practical Statutes of the Session 1871. p iii.
  58. ^ Rolin-Jaequemyns, Asser and Westlake. Archives de droit international de de législation comparée, 1874,  vol 1, pp 474 & 505. Marine Mutiny Act 1872, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1872, p iii.
  59. ^ "Practical Points" (1873) 37 The Justice of the Peace 428 at 429 (5 July 1873).
  60. ^ Marine Mutiny Act 1874, vLex. "Marine Mutiny Act", Punch's Pocket Book for 1875, pp 55 to 57. "Marine Mutiny Act": Paterson (ed), The Practical Statutes of the Session 1874, p iii; (1875) 39 Justice of the Peace 29. "Marine Mutiny Act of 1874": "Mutiny Acts 1874", Appendix to the Fourth Annual Report of the Local Government Board, p 5
  61. ^ Turner v Ford (1877) 37 LT 352 at 354
  62. ^ Saunders, Thomas William. The Law and Practice of Orders of Affiliation, and Proceedings in Bastardy. 7th Ed. 1878. p 104.
  63. ^ This Act was repealed by section 54 of, and the Schedule to, the (44 & 45 Vict c 57), subject to the proviso in section 54.
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