Star Chamber
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| - | The '''Licensing of the Press Act 1662''' is an [[Act of Parliament|Act]] of the [[Parliament of England]] (14 Car. II. c. 33), [[long title]] "An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Bookes and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses." It was repealed by the [[Statute Law Revision Act 1863]]. | ||
| - | The Act was originally limited to two years. The provisions as to importation of books, the appointment of licensers, and the number of printers and founders were practically re-enactments of the similar provisions in an order of the [[Star Chamber]] of 1637. | + | The '''Star Chamber''' (Latin ''Camera stellata'') was an [[England|English]] [[court of law]] that sat at the royal [[Palace of Westminster]] until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as [[Common law|common-law]] judges, and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters. The court was set up to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against prominent people, those so powerful that ordinary courts could never convict them of their crimes. Court sessions were held in secret, with no indictments, no right of appeal, no juries, and no witnesses. Evidence was presented in writing. Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts. |
| - | [[Printing press]]es were not to be set up without notice to the [[Stationers' Company]]. A king's messenger had power by warrant of the king or a [[secretary of state]] to enter and search for unlicensed presses and printing. Severe penalties by fine and imprisonment were denounced against offenders. The act was successively renewed up to 1679. | + | It was mistakenly thought that in 1487 an act was passed which established a special "Court of Star Chamber" to deal with the nobles; however; the only legislation passed in that year in this context was to set up a tribunal to prevent the intimidation of juries and to stop [[Bastard feudalism|retaining]], the keeping of [[Retainer|private armies]] by persons of rank. It seems to have gone out of use by 1509 and it had no connection with the later Court of Star Chamber whose primary purpose was to hear [[political libel]] and [[treason]] cases. |
| - | Under the powers of the act Sir [[Roger L'Estrange]] was appointed licenser, and the effect of the supervision was that practically the newspaper press was reduced to the [[London Gazette]]. The objections made to lines 594-599 of the first book of ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' by the [[archbishop of Canterbury]]'s chaplain, acting as licenser, are well known. The act expired in 1679, and for the remainder of the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], as in the reign of [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], the restrictions on the press took the form of prosecutions for [[libel]]. | + | In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, ''star chambers''. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges has led to substantial reforms in English law in most jurisdictions since that time. |
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| - | In 1685 the Licensing Act was renewed for seven years (Jac. II. c. 8, § 15). No mention of the liberty of the press was made in the [[Bill of Rights 1689|Bill of Rights]]. On the expiration of the Licensing Act in 1692 it was continued till the end of the existing session of parliament (4 & 5 Will. and Mary, c. 24, § 14). In 1695 the [[British House of Commons|Commons]] refused to renew it. The immediate effect of this was to lay authors open to the attacks of literary piracy, and in 1709 the first Copyright Act ([[Statute of Anne|8 Anne, c. 19]]) was enacted for their protection. | + | |
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| - | The power of a secretary of state to issue a warrant, whether general or special, for the purpose of searching for and seizing the author of a libel or the libellous papers themselves - a power exercised by the Star Chamber and confirmed by the Licensing Act - was still asserted, and was not finally declared illegal until the case of ''[[Entick v. Carrington]]'' in 1765 (St. Tr. xix. 1030). In 1776 the House of Commons came to a resolution in accordance with this decision. The compulsory stamp duty on newspapers was abandoned in 1855 (18 Vict. C. 27), the duty on paper in 1861 (24 Vict. C. 20), the optional duty on newspapers in 1870 (33 & 34 Vict. c. 38). From that time the English press maybe said to date its complete freedom, which rests rather upon a constitutional than a legal foundation. It is not confirmed by any provision of the supreme legislative authority, as is the case in many countries. | + | |
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| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | * [[Licensing Order of 1643]] | + | |
| - | * [[Statute of Anne]], 1709 | + | |
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The Star Chamber (Latin Camera stellata) was an English court of law that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster until 1641. It was made up of Privy Counsellors, as well as common-law judges, and supplemented the activities of the common-law and equity courts in both civil and criminal matters. The court was set up to ensure the fair enforcement of laws against prominent people, those so powerful that ordinary courts could never convict them of their crimes. Court sessions were held in secret, with no indictments, no right of appeal, no juries, and no witnesses. Evidence was presented in writing. Over time it evolved into a political weapon and became a symbol of the misuse and abuse of power by the English monarchy and courts.
It was mistakenly thought that in 1487 an act was passed which established a special "Court of Star Chamber" to deal with the nobles; however; the only legislation passed in that year in this context was to set up a tribunal to prevent the intimidation of juries and to stop retaining, the keeping of private armies by persons of rank. It seems to have gone out of use by 1509 and it had no connection with the later Court of Star Chamber whose primary purpose was to hear political libel and treason cases.
In modern usage, legal or administrative bodies with strict, arbitrary rulings and secretive proceedings are sometimes called, metaphorically or poetically, star chambers. This is a pejorative term and intended to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the proceedings. The inherent lack of objectivity of any politically motivated charges has led to substantial reforms in English law in most jurisdictions since that time.
