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Bill of attainder
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A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial.
he Westminster system (and especially in the United Kingdom), a similar concept is covered by the term private bill (which upon passage become private acts). Note however that private bill is a general term referring to a proposal for legislation applying to a specific person; it is only a bill of attainder if it punishes them.
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Encyclopedia
A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial.
Private Bills
In the Westminster system (and especially in the United Kingdom), a similar concept is covered by the term private bill (which upon passage become private acts). Note however that private bill is a general term referring to a proposal for legislation applying to a specific person; it is only a bill of attainder if it punishes them. Previously, private bills were used in some Commonwealth countries to effect divorce. Other traditional uses of private bills include chartering corporations, changing the charters of existing corporations, granting monopolies, approving of public infrastructure and seizure of property for those, as well as enclosure of commons and similar redistributions of property. Those types of private bills operate to take away private property and rights from certain individuals, but are usually not called "bill of pains and penalties". The last United Kingdom bill called Bill of Pains and Penalties was passed by Lords in 1820, but not considered by Commons; it sought to divorce Queen Caroline from King George IV and adjust her titles and property accordingly, on grounds of her alleged adultery, like many private bills dealing with divorces of private persons did.
Canadian usage
In two cases of attempts to pass laws inflicting a judicial penalty on a specific person (in the first case Clifford Olson, in the second case Karla Homolka), the speakers of the House and Senate, respectively, have ruled that Canadian parliamentary practice does not permit bills of attainder or bills of pains and penalties.
The Great Act of Attainder
The English King James II (James VII of Scots), driven off by the ascent of William and Mary in the Glorious Revolution, came to Ireland intent on reclaiming his throne. With his arrival, the Parliament of Ireland began work on a list of names, eventually tallying around three thousand. Those on the list were to report to Dublin for sentencing. One man, Lord Mountjoy, was in the Bastille at the time and was told by the Irish Parliament that he must break out of his cell and make it back to Ireland for his punishment, or face the grisly process of being drawn and quartered.
World War II
Previously secret British War Cabinet papers released on 1 January 2006, have shown that, as early as December 1942, the War Cabinet had discussed their policy for the punishment of the leading Nazis if captured. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had then advocated a policy of summary execution with the use of an Act of Attainder to circumvent legal obstacles. He was dissuaded from this by cabinet minister Richard Law who pointed out that the United States and Russia still favoured trials.
See also
- Eminent domain, the taking of private property with compensation, for public use.
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Footnotes
External links
British tradition
American tradition
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- Mention of Attainder in Federalist Papers, for example, by and again by and by
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