The Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1802 (42 Geo. 3. c. 85) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Provisions In the wake of the attempted impeachment of Warren Hastings, it legislated for the Court of King's Bench to try and punish past, present and future offences by colonial officials and military officers as if they had been committed in Middlesex, Westminster or any county where the offender resided (sections 1 and 6). It also enabled that court to obtain evidence from governors, local courts and others in the area where the offence occurred by writ of mandamus (section 2) and made other provisions for the gathering of that evidence (sections 3–4) as well as applying the usual perjury laws (section 5).
The act thus applied more widely the provisions of the Governors of Plantations Act 1698 (11 Will. 3. c. 12) and the East India Company Acts of 1772 and 1784.
Subsequent developments The act was later extended to offences under the Official Secrets Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c. 52).
Part of sections 2–6 of the act were repealed for the United Kingdom by section 2 of Public Works Loans Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict. c. 61).
Section 6 of the act to "Provided always that." was repealed by section 2 of, and the schedule to, the Public Authorities Protection Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 61), which came into force on 1 January 1894.
In section 1 of the act, the words from " either upon an information " to " upon an indictment ", repealed for England and Wales by section 10(2) of, and part III of schedule 3 to, the Criminal Law Act 1967, which came into force on 1 January 1968.
Sections 2–6 of the act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1964, which came into force on 31 July 1964.
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