torture
torture. In his important work De laudibus legum Angliae, Chief Justice Fortescue (c.1385–1477/9) describes torture as being foreign to English law, which he praised in comparison with the civil law of the European continent. Certainly torture was a feature of the civil law system and was used to discover truth where an inquisitorial form of trial was used. However, although not used by the common law courts, it was used by the council when investigating offences and, particularly in the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the use of torture, notably the use of the rack, was common. Torture was also occasionally used by the Court of Star Chamber. Although the common law itself did not use torture as a means of obtaining evidence, it did in practice torture those who refused to accept trial by jury under the peine forte et dure. Torture was permitted under Scottish law, but was abolished immediately after the Union by 7 Anne c. 21 s. 5 (1708).
Maureen Mulholland
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