Offences Against The Person Act 1861

Offences Against The Person Act 1861

The Offences against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict c 100) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person (an expression which, in particular, includes offences of violence) from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with little or no variation in their phraseology. It is one of a group of Acts sometimes referred to as the criminal law consolidation Acts 1861. It was passed with the object of simplifying the law. It is essentially a revised version of an earlier consolidation Act, the Offences against the Person Act 1828 (and the equivalent Irish Act), incorporating subsequent statutes.

Although it has been substantially amended, it continues to be the foundation for prosecuting personal injury, short of murder, in the courts of England and Wales.

In England and Wales, and in Northern Ireland, the sexual offences under this Act have all been repealed. For current sexual offences see the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008. In Ireland (both Northern Ireland and the Republic) the Offences against the Person Act 1861 continues to be the basis of a ban on abortion.

Read more about Offences Against The Person Act 1861:  Commentary, Dangerous Offenders, Attempts To Murder, Threats To Kill, Bodily Harm, Assaults, Rape, Abduction and Defilement of Women, Child Stealing, Bigamy, Abortion, Concealing The Birth of A Child, Unnatural Offences, Carnal Knowledge, Other Matters, Consequential Repeals

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