Penal law

In the most general sense, penal is the body of laws that are enforced by the State in its own name and impose penalties for their violation, as opposed to civil law that seeks to redress private wrongs. This usage is synonymous with criminal law and is covered in that article.

English statutes on religious nonconformity

In English history, penal law refers to a specific series of laws that sought to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics, by imposing various forfeitures, civil penalties, and civil disabilities upon these dissenters. Some examples of these laws are:

Related Topics:
English - Establishment - Church of England - Protestant - Nonconformists - Roman Catholics

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• the law of praemunire
• the series of Test Acts
• Conventicle Act
• Five Mile Act
• Act of Uniformity
• Education Act 1695
• Disarming Act 1695
• Marriage Act 1697
• Banishment Act 1697
• Registration Act 1704
• Popery Act 1704 and 1709
• Occasional Conformity Act 1711
• Disenfranchising Act 1728

While some of the Penal Laws were much older, they took their most drastic shape during the reign of Charles II, when they became known as the Clarendon Code, after Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, their author.

Related Topics:
Charles II - Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon

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