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Hub AI
Bill of attainder AI simulator
(@Bill of attainder_simulator)
Hub AI
Bill of attainder AI simulator
(@Bill of attainder_simulator)
Bill of attainder
A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a trial. As with attainder resulting from the normal judicial process, the effect of such a bill is to nullify the targeted person's civil rights, most notably the right to own property (and thus pass it on to heirs), the right to a title of nobility, and, in at least the original usage, the right to life itself.
In the history of England, the word "attainder" refers to people who were declared "attainted", meaning that their civil rights were nullified: they could no longer own property or pass property to their family by will or testament. Attainted people would normally be put to death, with the property left behind escheated to the Crown or lord rather than being inherited by family. The first use of a bill of attainder was in 1321 against Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester and his son Hugh Despenser the Younger, Earl of Gloucester, who were both attainted for supporting King Edward II. Bills of attainder passed in Parliament by Henry VIII on 29 January 1542 resulted in the executions of a number of notable historical figures.
The use of these bills by Parliament eventually fell into disfavour due to the potential for abuse and the violation of several legal principles, most importantly the right to due process, the precept that a law should address a particular form of behaviour rather than a specific individual or group, and the separation of powers, since a bill of attainder is necessarily a judicial matter. The last use of attainder was in 1798 against Lord Edward FitzGerald for leading the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The House of Lords later passed the Pains and Penalties Bill 1820, which attempted to attaint Queen Caroline, but it was not considered by the House of Commons. No bills of attainder have been passed since 1820 in the UK. Attainder remained a legal consequence of convictions in courts of law, but this ceased to be a part of punishment in 1870.
American dissatisfaction with British attainder laws resulted in their being prohibited in the United States Constitution in 1789. Bills of attainder are forbidden to both the federal government and the states, reflecting the importance that the Framers attached to this issue. Every state constitution also expressly forbids bills of attainder. The U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated laws under the Attainder Clause on five occasions. Most common-law nations have prohibited bills of attainder, some explicitly and some implicitly.
The Constitution of Australia contains no specific provision permitting the Commonwealth Parliament to pass bills of attainder. The High Court of Australia has ruled that federal bills of attainder are unconstitutional, because it is a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for any body to wield judicial power other than a Chapter III court—that is, a body exercising power derived from Chapter III of the Constitution, the chapter providing for judicial power. One of the core aspects of judicial power is the ability to make binding and authoritative decisions on questions of law, that is, issues relating to life, liberty or property. The wielding of judicial power by the legislative or executive branch includes the direct wielding of power and the indirect wielding of judicial power.
The state constitutions in Australia contain few limitations on government power. Bills of attainder are considered permissible because there is no entrenched separation of powers at the state level. However, section 77 of the Constitution of Australia permits state courts to be invested with Commonwealth jurisdiction, and any state law that renders a state court unable to function as a Chapter III court is unconstitutional. The states cannot structure their legal systems to prevent them from being subject to the Australian Constitution.
An important distinction is that laws seeking to direct judicial power (e.g. must make orders) are unconstitutional, but laws that concern mandatory sentencing, rules of evidence, non-punitive imprisonment, or tests, are constitutional.
State parliaments are, however, free to prohibit parole boards from granting parole to specific prisoners. For instance, sections 74AA and 74AB of the Corrections Act 1986 in Victoria significantly restrict the ability of the parole board to grant parole to Julian Knight or Craig Minogue. These have been upheld by the High Court of Australia and are distinguished from bills of attainder since the original sentence (life imprisonment) handed down by the Supreme Court of Victoria is unchanged; the law relates only to the granting (or not) of parole, which is a privilege, not a right.
Bill of attainder
A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder, writ of attainder, or bill of pains and penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and providing for a punishment, often without a trial. As with attainder resulting from the normal judicial process, the effect of such a bill is to nullify the targeted person's civil rights, most notably the right to own property (and thus pass it on to heirs), the right to a title of nobility, and, in at least the original usage, the right to life itself.
In the history of England, the word "attainder" refers to people who were declared "attainted", meaning that their civil rights were nullified: they could no longer own property or pass property to their family by will or testament. Attainted people would normally be put to death, with the property left behind escheated to the Crown or lord rather than being inherited by family. The first use of a bill of attainder was in 1321 against Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester and his son Hugh Despenser the Younger, Earl of Gloucester, who were both attainted for supporting King Edward II. Bills of attainder passed in Parliament by Henry VIII on 29 January 1542 resulted in the executions of a number of notable historical figures.
The use of these bills by Parliament eventually fell into disfavour due to the potential for abuse and the violation of several legal principles, most importantly the right to due process, the precept that a law should address a particular form of behaviour rather than a specific individual or group, and the separation of powers, since a bill of attainder is necessarily a judicial matter. The last use of attainder was in 1798 against Lord Edward FitzGerald for leading the Irish Rebellion of 1798. The House of Lords later passed the Pains and Penalties Bill 1820, which attempted to attaint Queen Caroline, but it was not considered by the House of Commons. No bills of attainder have been passed since 1820 in the UK. Attainder remained a legal consequence of convictions in courts of law, but this ceased to be a part of punishment in 1870.
American dissatisfaction with British attainder laws resulted in their being prohibited in the United States Constitution in 1789. Bills of attainder are forbidden to both the federal government and the states, reflecting the importance that the Framers attached to this issue. Every state constitution also expressly forbids bills of attainder. The U.S. Supreme Court has invalidated laws under the Attainder Clause on five occasions. Most common-law nations have prohibited bills of attainder, some explicitly and some implicitly.
The Constitution of Australia contains no specific provision permitting the Commonwealth Parliament to pass bills of attainder. The High Court of Australia has ruled that federal bills of attainder are unconstitutional, because it is a violation of the separation of powers doctrine for any body to wield judicial power other than a Chapter III court—that is, a body exercising power derived from Chapter III of the Constitution, the chapter providing for judicial power. One of the core aspects of judicial power is the ability to make binding and authoritative decisions on questions of law, that is, issues relating to life, liberty or property. The wielding of judicial power by the legislative or executive branch includes the direct wielding of power and the indirect wielding of judicial power.
The state constitutions in Australia contain few limitations on government power. Bills of attainder are considered permissible because there is no entrenched separation of powers at the state level. However, section 77 of the Constitution of Australia permits state courts to be invested with Commonwealth jurisdiction, and any state law that renders a state court unable to function as a Chapter III court is unconstitutional. The states cannot structure their legal systems to prevent them from being subject to the Australian Constitution.
An important distinction is that laws seeking to direct judicial power (e.g. must make orders) are unconstitutional, but laws that concern mandatory sentencing, rules of evidence, non-punitive imprisonment, or tests, are constitutional.
State parliaments are, however, free to prohibit parole boards from granting parole to specific prisoners. For instance, sections 74AA and 74AB of the Corrections Act 1986 in Victoria significantly restrict the ability of the parole board to grant parole to Julian Knight or Craig Minogue. These have been upheld by the High Court of Australia and are distinguished from bills of attainder since the original sentence (life imprisonment) handed down by the Supreme Court of Victoria is unchanged; the law relates only to the granting (or not) of parole, which is a privilege, not a right.