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Misprision of treason is an offence found in many common law jurisdictions around the world, having been inherited from English law. It is committed by someone who knows a treason is being or is about to be committed but does not report it to a proper authority. It is therefore unusual in that it is a criminal offence which may be committed through inaction.
Australia
Under Australian law a person is guilty of misprision of treason if he:
- "(a) receives or assists another person who, to his or her knowledge, has committed treason with the intention of allowing him or her to escape punishment or apprehension; or
- (b) knowing that another person intends to commit treason, does not inform a constable of it within a reasonable time or use other reasonable endeavours to prevent the commission of the offence."
The penalty is life imprisonment.
Canada
Under Canadian law a person is guilty of an offence (although it is not described as misprision) if: "knowing that a person is about to commit high treason or treason [he] does not, with all reasonable dispatch, inform a justice of the peace or other peace officer thereof or make other reasonable efforts to prevent that person from committing high treason or treason."
The maximum penalty is 14 years.
New Zealand
Under the New Zealand Criminal Code a person is guilty of an offence who "knowing that a person is about to commit treason, fails without reasonable excuse to inform a constable as soon as possible or to use other reasonable efforts to prevent its commission."
The maximum sentence is 7 years.
Republic of Ireland
Under section 3 of the Treason Act 1939 a person is guilty of misprision of treason if "knowing that any act the commission of which would be treason is intended or proposed to be, or is being, or has been committed, [he] does not forthwith disclose the same, together with all particulars thereof known to him, to a Justice of the District Court, or an officer of the Gárda Síochána, or some other person lawfully engaged on duties relating to the preservation of peace and order."
Russia
Russia has no specific offence of misprision. However Article 275 of the Criminal Code of Russia encourages people to come forward with information by providing them with a statutory defence to treason and other offences:
"A person who has committed crimes stipulated in this Article, or by Articles 276 and 278 of this Code, shall be relieved from criminal responsibility if he has facilitated the prevention of further damage to the interests of the Russian Federation by informing the governmental authorities of his own free will and in due time, or in any other way, if his actions contain no other corpus delicti."
United Kingdom
Misprision of treason is an offence under the common law of England and Wales and the common law of Northern Ireland. By statute, the offence of misprision of treason under the common law of England has been made an offence which is cognisable under the law of Scotland.[1]
The crime is committed where a person knows that treason is being planned or committed and does not report it as soon as he can to a justice of the peace or other authority. The offender does not need to consent to the treason; mere knowledge is enough. Failure to report treason used to itself be treason at common law, but a statute passed by the parliament of 1554-1555[2] created a new offence of misprision of treason, which was a non-capital felony.[3]
Penalty
It is punishable by imprisonment for life.[4] It used also to be punished by forfeiture but that is probably no longer the case in England and Wales.
Procedure
The procedure on trials for misprision of treason is the same as that on trials for murder.[5][6][7] It is classified as an indictable-only offence.
Limitation
A person may not be indicted for misprision of treason committed within the United Kingdom unless the indictment is signed within three years of the commission of that offence.[8][9][10]
Scottish Parliament
Misprision of treason is a reserved matter on which the Scottish Parliament cannot legislate.[11]
United States
In the United States, misprision of treason is a federal offense, committed where someone who has knowledge of the commission of any treason against the United States, does not inform the President, a federal judge or state Governor or judge (18 U.S.C. § 2382). It is punishable by a fine and up to 7 years in prison.
It is also a crime punishable under the criminal laws of many states.
References
- Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th Edition, 2006 reissue, Volume 11(1), Paragraphs 365 and 366
- William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book 4, Chapter 9
See also
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