{"id":"a-db-1787","name":"DUE PROCESS OF LAW ACT 1354 28 EDW 3 C 3","slug":"due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":234159,"registerId":"act-due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"DUE PROCESS OF LAW ACT 1354 28 EDW 3 C 3","content":"Australian Capital Territory\nDue Process of Law Act 1354\n28 Edw 3 c 3\nRepublication No 1\nRepublication date: 5 July 2002\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel\n\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Due Process of Law Act 1354 28 Edw 3 c 3 as in force on\n5 July 2002. It includes any commencement, repeal or expiry affecting the republished\nlaw and any amendment made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial\nchanges).\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in\nendnotes 3 and 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see\nthe ACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been\nmade by an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115\nand s 117). The changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are\ndesirable to bring the law into line, or more closely into line, with current legislative\ndrafting practice.\nThis republication includes amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced or is affected by an\nuncommenced amendment, the symbol U appears immediately before the provision\nheading. The text of the uncommenced provision or amendment appears only in the last\nendnote.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M\nappears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision\nappears in the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see Legislation Act 2001,\nsection 95.\nPenalties\nThe value of a penalty unit for an offence against this republished law at the republication\ndate is—\n(a) if the person charged is an individual—$100; or\n(b) if the person charged is a corporation—$500.\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nDue Process of Law Act 1354\n28 Edw 3 c 3\nContents\nPage\nNone shall be condemned without due process of law 1\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 2\n2 Abbreviation key 2\n3 Legislation history 3\n4 Amendment history 3\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nDue Process of Law Act 1354\n28 Edw 3 c 3\nNone shall be condemned without due process of law\nNo person of what estate or condition that the person be, shall be put out of\nland or tenement, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited, nor put to\ndeath, without being brought in answer by due process of the law.\n\nEndnotes\nAbout the endnotes 1\nR1 Due Process of Law Act 1354 28 Edw 3 c 3 page 2\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and\nthe amendment history. Current modifications are not included in the\nrepublished law but are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3\nare annotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can\nbe obtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws and expiries are listed in the legislation\nhistory and the amendment history. These details are underlined.\nUncommenced provisions and amendments are not included in the\nrepublished law but are set out in the last endnote.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\nIf the republished law includes penalties, current information about penalty\nunit values appears on the republication inside front cover.\n2 Abbreviation key\nam = amended ord = ordinance\namdt = amendment orig = original\nch = chapter p = page\ncl = clause par = paragraph\ndef = definition pres = present\ndict = dictionary prev = previous\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative (prev...) = previously\nAssembly prov = provision\ndiv = division pt = part\nexp = expires/expired r = rule/subrule\nGaz = Gazette reg = regulation/subregulation\nhdg = heading renum = renumbered\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 reloc = relocated\nins = inserted/added R[X] = Republication No\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 s = section/subsection\nLR = legislation register sch = schedule\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 sdiv = subdivision\nmod = modified / modification sub = substituted\nNo = number SL = Subordinate Law\nnum = numbered underlining = whole or part not commenced\no = order or to be expired\nom = omitted/repealed\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR1 Due Process of Law Act 1354 28 Edw 3 c 3 page 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nThis Act was originally a UK Act—(1354) 28 E dw 3 c 5 (UK). The Act was\nrenamed as the Due Process of Law Act 1354 when it was first republished\nunder the Legislation Act 2001.\nThe Act was in force in NSW immediately before 1 January 1911 (the date\nof establishment of the ACT) and was continued in force by the Seat of\nGovernment Acceptance Act 1909 (Cwlth), s 6.\nUnder the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cwlth), s 4 the\nAct had effect in the ACT as if it were an ACT law (subject to ordinances\nmade under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910).\nThe Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cwlth),\ns 34 (4) converted most former UK laws in force in the ACT into ACT\nenactments. This allowed the ACT Legislative Assembly to amend and\nrepeal the laws. This Act was converted into an ACT enactment on 11 May\n1989 (self-government day).\nUnder the Interpretation Act 1967 (repealed), s 65 all former UK Acts in\nforce in the ACT immediately before 10 November 1999 (including this Act)\nbecame, for all purposes, laws made by the ACT Legislative Assembly. This\ncompleted the process of making former UK Acts fully into ACT laws.\nDue Process of Law Act 1354 28 Edw 3 c 3\nas amended by\nImperial Acts Application Act 1986 A1986-93 s 5 and sch 3 pt 4\nnotified 12 January 1987 (Cwlth Gaz 1986 No S1)\ns 5 and sch 3 pt 4 commenced 12 January 1987 (s 2 (1))\n4 Amendment history\nThe Imperial Acts Application Act 1986 (the 1986 Act), sch 3, pt 4 set out the\ntext of this Act in an amended form and provided for the amended form to\napply as the text of the Act in force in the ACT (see 1986 Act, s 5 (1), (4)\nand (5)).\nThis Act has not been amended since the enactment of the 1986 Act, except\nunder the Legislation Act 2001.\nName of Act\nam R1 LA\nNone shall be condemned without due process of law\nam R1 LA\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at\nwww.legislation.act.gov.au\n© Australian Capital Territory 2002","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Originally a UK Act (1354) now continued and converted into ACT law; the Imperial Acts Application Act 1986 set out an amended text to apply in the ACT. That process altered the Act's legal status and territorial application while retaining the operative prohibition; procedural scope therefore depends on modern statutory and judicial context (see 'Legislation history' and 'Amendment history')."},"complexity_factors":["Very short, single‑sentence substantive rule but framed in archaic language (1354 wording) which requires modern interpretation.","Key term 'due process of the law' is not defined in the instrument, creating reliance on courts and external statutes to fill procedural detail.","No procedural mechanisms, remedies, or enforcement details are provided—implementation depends on interaction with other laws and judicial doctrine.","Legislative history shows conversion from a 1354 UK Act into ACT law and an amended text set out by the Imperial Acts Application Act 1986, creating potential questions about textual variants and territorial application (Legislation history, Amendment history).","Republication and editorial amendment provisions (Legislation Act 2001 references) add formal complexity about commencement, uncommenced provisions and modifications even though the operative clause is short.","Practical compliance burdens (legal costs for individuals, prosecution/enforcement costs for the state) and administrative discretion (courts determine what process suffices) are implied rather than specified."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, this single‑sentence Act bars depriving any person of land, liberty, inheritance or life except after being “brought in answer by due process of the law.” It applies to all persons in the Territory and requires government actors to use recognised legal process (courts, charges, evidence) before such deprivations. Affected individuals may face legal costs; the Territory bears prosecution and enforcement costs. (Operative provision: “None shall be condemned without due process of law”.)"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation has remained substantively unchanged since 1354. While it has been republished and reclassified as ACT law through various statutory mechanisms (Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909, Self-Government Act 1988, Interpretation Act 1967), the actual legal content — the single sentence prohibiting condemnation without due process — has not expanded or altered in scope. The original purpose was to limit arbitrary royal power; it continues to serve as a general protection against arbitrary government action."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision consisting of one sentence","No defined terms section","No cross-references to other legislation (except historical notes)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","No penalties, enforcement mechanisms, or procedural requirements","Extremely short — the substantive law is 36 words","Modern editorial apparatus (endnotes, republication information) is longer than the actual legal text"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is one of the oldest pieces of legislation still in force in Australia — originally passed by the English Parliament in 1354 during the reign of King Edward III. It establishes a fundamental legal protection: **no one can be punished, imprisoned, executed, or stripped of their property without going through proper legal procedures first**.\n\n**In simple terms:**\nThe law says that regardless of who you are — rich or poor, powerful or ordinary — the government cannot:\n- Take your land or home\n- Arrest or imprison you\n- Take away your inheritance rights\n- Put you to death\n\n...unless you have first been brought before a court and given a fair chance to answer the accusations against you through \"due process of law\" (the proper legal steps and fair procedures).\n\n**Who it affects:**\nEveryone in the Australian Capital Territory. This is a foundational protection against arbitrary government power.\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ancient statute is the ancestor of modern concepts like **the right to a fair trial** and **natural justice**. It prevents governments from acting arbitrarily or tyrannically — they must follow established legal procedures before depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property. While Australia now has modern human rights charters and constitutional doctrines that provide similar protections, this 14th-century law remains on the books as a historical and legal backstop."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3","history":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3/history","analysis":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/due-process-of-law-act-1354-28-edw-3-c-3/documents"}}