The
Administration of Justice Act, or
Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice, also popularly called the
Murdering Act or
Murder Act, an
Act passed by the
Parliament of Great Britain (citation 14 Geo III c. 39) and becoming law on May 20, 1774, is one of the measures (variously called the
Intolerable Acts, the
Punitive Acts or the
Coercive Acts by those whose political agenda ran contrary to Parliament's) that were designed to secure Britain's jurisdiction over her American dominions. These acts included the Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, and the Quartering Act.
To assure trials more conducive to the Crown than the prejudices of local juries, the act granted a
change of venue to another British colony or Great Britain in trials of officials charged with a crime growing out of their enforcement of the law or suppression of riots. Witnesses for both sides were also required to attend the trial and were to be compensated for their expenses.
The Act was repealed by the
Statute Law Revision Act 1871.
See also
