The Treason Act 1939 is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Oireachtas

Oireachtas

The Oireachtas , sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the "national parliament" or legislature of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:*The President of Ireland*The two Houses of the Oireachtas :**Dáil Éireann...

 (Parliament) of the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It provides for the punishment of treason

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 and related offences.

Article 39 of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland

Constitution of Ireland

The Constitution of Ireland is the fundamental law of the Irish state. The constitution falls broadly within the liberal democratic tradition. It establishes an independent state based on a system of representative democracy and guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected...

 defines treason as follows:
Section 1 of the Treason Act provides that treason can be committed by anyone in Ireland, or outside Ireland by any citizen

Irish nationality law

Irish nationality law is the law of the Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. Irish nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship...

 or resident of Ireland. It was a capital offence

Capital punishment in Ireland

Capital punishment has been abolished in the Republic of Ireland. The last execution was in 1954. From then until 1990 while capital punishment remained on the statute book, a practice arose whereby every sentence of death was commuted by the Irish president...

, until the death penalty was abolished in 1990. The sentence now is life imprisonment

Life imprisonment

Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...

, with parole in not less than 40 years.

Section 2 states that anyone who "encourages, harbours, or comforts any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for believing to be engaged in committing treason shall be guilty of felony."

The Act also provides that "No person shall be convicted of treason on the uncorroborated

Corroborating evidence

Corroborating evidence is evidence that tends to support a proposition that is already supported by some evidence, therefore confirming the proposition. For example, W, a witness, testifies that she saw X drive his automobile into a green car...

 evidence of one witness." This also applies to the offence under section 2.

Section 3 deals with misprision of treason.

The 1939 Act replaced the Treasonable Offences Act 1925. Before 1925 treason was defined by the laws of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, most notably the Treason Act 1351

Treason Act 1351

The Treason Act 1351 is an Act of the Parliament of England which codified and curtailed the common law offence of treason. No new offences were created by the statute. It is one of the earliest English statutes still in force, although it has been very significantly amended. It was extended to...

.

External links

• Original text of the Treason Act 1939, as enacted, from official government website "Irish Statute Book"
• Original text of the Treasonable Offences Act 1925, as enacted