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The Treachery Act 1940 (3 & 4 Geo. VI c. 40) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom enacted during World War II to facilitate the prosecution and execution of enemy spies, and suspended after the war and later repealed. The law was passed in the month after Nazi Germany invaded France and Winston Churchill became prime minister (23 May 1940).〔(HM Prison Service - Prison Service News (Magazine) )〕 ==Reasons for the Act== The Treachery Act was deemed necessary because treason still had its own special rules of evidence and procedure which made it a difficult offence to prove and prosecute ''(see Treason Act 1695)''. The new offence of treachery, a felony, was designed to make securing convictions easier as it could be proved under the same rules of evidence as ordinary offences. It was also needed because there was doubt whether the treason laws were applicable to German saboteurs.〔Edward Coke's ''Institutes of the Lawes of England'', (Third Part ), page 11: "An enemy coming in open hostility into England ... cannot be indicted of treason, for that he was never within the protection or ligeance of the king."〕 In commending the Bill to the House of Commons, the Home Secretary, Sir John Anderson, explained why the bill was necessary:〔(Hansard, 22 May 1940 )〕 In the House of Lords the Lord Chancellor, Viscount Simon, elaborated: The bill was always intended to be a temporary emergency measure which would be repealed after the War. It was rushed through Parliament in two weeks, passing the House of Lords in a few minutes and receiving royal assent on the same day.〔(Hansard )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Treachery Act 1940」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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