Statute Law Repeals - Law Commission - Ministry of Justice

2.23 Sections 1 and 2 of the 1803 Act (which related to foreign bills of exchange and
promissory notes) were repealed for England and Wales from 21 July 1830 by
the Forgery Act 1830, 25 a consolidating statute, but remained live in Scotland and
Ireland. Subsequently those sections were repealed for Ireland by the Criminal
Statutes Repeal Act 1861. 26 Sections 3 to 9 of the 1803 Act (which related, in the
main, to coinage), and the Act’s preamble, were repealed for the whole of the UK
by the Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1861. 27
2.24 Sections 1 and 2 now remain only for Scotland. They prohibited, amongst other
things, forging and counterfeiting any bill of exchange or promissory note or
money order belonging to any foreign state (with intent to deceive “his Majesty,
his heirs and successors”), tendering such forgeries, engraving plates for bills of
exchange and the like without authority, possessing such plates, and printing
unlawful instruments. Forgery was deemed a felony, carrying a maximum term of
14 years’ transportation; engraving and printing was deemed a misdemeanour,
with a first conviction penalty of up to 6 months’ imprisonment (and a fine).
2.25 Today the 1803 Act provisions are no longer used in Scotland. Instead, offences
of forgery, counterfeiting and uttering would be charged under either the Forgery
and Counterfeiting Act 1981, 28 ss 14, 15 and 17, or the Criminal Law
(Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, 29 s 46A(1), which deals with false monetary
instruments. 30 As a consequence, the Forgery of Foreign Bills Act 1803 has now
been superseded and can be repealed as a whole.
GROUP 5 - FRAUD
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1987
2.26 Anti-fraud provisions in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1987, 31 ss 51 to 53
allow the Lord Advocate in Scotland to issue a direction empowering an
investigating officer to require a person suspected of serious or complex fraud to
attend for questioning and produce documentation. Obstruction, either by failure
to comply or by disposal of documents, is made an offence (and search warrants
can be obtained). Section 54 of the Act allows the Lord Advocate to disclose
information, which ordinarily would be kept secret under the Taxes Management
Act 1970, 32 for the purposes of fraud prosecution.
25
11 Geo.4 & 1 Will.4 c.66 (1830), s 31. The 1830 Act was repealed piecemeal between
1861 and 1978.
26 24 & 25 Vict. c.95 (1861), s 1 and Sch.
27 Above. To put the matter beyond doubt in Ireland the Irish Parliament repealed the whole
of the 1803 Act in its Statute Law Revision Act 2007 (No. 28 of 2007) (Ire).
28 1981 (c.45).
29 1995 (c.39), as amended by the Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (c.32), s 89,
and amplified by the False Monetary Instruments (Scotland) Order 2005 (SSI 2005 No
321).
30 We are grateful to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (Criminal Justice and
Disclosure Team) for confirmation of the position in practice in Scotland.
31 1987 (c.41) (“the 1987 Scottish Act”).
32 1970 (c.9).
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