Editing Praemunire (section)

==Later developments==
The Statute of Praemunire (the first statute so called) (1353), though especially levelled at the pretensions of the [[Roman Curia]], was also levelled against the pretensions of any foreign power and therefore was created to maintain the independence of the crown against all pretensions against it. By it, the king "at the grievous and clamorous complaints of the great men and commons of the realm of England" enacts "that all the people of the king's ligeance of what condition that they be, which shall draw any out of the realm in plea" or any matter of which the cognizance properly belongs to the king's court shall be allowed two months in which to answer for their contempt of the king's rights in transferring their pleas abroad. The penalties which were attached to the offence under this statute involved the loss of all civil rights, forfeiture of lands, goods and chattels, and imprisonment during the royal pleasure.<ref name=EB1911/><ref name="Kenny, C. 1936 p. 323">Kenny, C. ''Outlines of Criminal Law'' ([[Cambridge University Press]], 1936), 15th edition, p. 323</ref>

Many other statutes followed that of 1353, but that which was passed in the sixteenth year of [[Richard II of England|Richard II]]'s reign is, as mentioned before, usually referred to as the Statute of Praemunire. This statute, after first stating "that the right of recovering the presentments to churches, [[prebendary|prebends]], and other benefices&nbsp;... belongeth only to the king’s court of the old right of his crown, used and approved in the time of all his progenitors kings of England", proceeds to condemn the practice of papal translation, and after rehearsing the promise of the three estates of the realm to stand with the king in all cases touching his crown and his regality, enacts "that if any purchase or pursue, or cause to be purchased or pursued in the court of Rome, or elsewhere, any such translations, processes, and sentences of excommunications, bulls, instruments or any other things whatsoever&nbsp;... he and his notaries, abettors and counsellors" shall be put out of the king's protection, and their lands [[escheat]].<ref name=EB1911/>

Praemunire declined in importance, but experienced a resurgence under [[Henry VIII]] as the [[Protestant Reformation]] unfolded. First individuals were indicted for ''praemunire'', then groups of clergy, and lastly the entire English clergy was accused of being agents of a foreign power (the Pope). The fall of both [[Lord Chancellor]] Cardinal [[Thomas Wolsey]] and [[Lord Great Chamberlain]] [[Thomas Cromwell]] was precipitated by a charge of praemunire. [[William Barlow (bishop of Chichester)|William Barlow]] was pardoned by the crown for the crime in 1550 when he made a visitation at Wells deanery.<ref>"Colleges: The cathedral of Wells." ''A History of the County of Somerset: Volume 2.'' Ed. William Page. London: Victoria County History, 1911. 162-169. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/som/vol2/pp162-169 British History Online website] Retrieved 3 May 2023.</ref> In time, Henry asserted himself as "[[Supreme Governor of the Church of England|of the Church of England in Earth under Jesus Christ Supreme Head]]", and the clergy of the [[Church of England]] no longer answered to a foreign power.

During the 19th century the [[Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church|Camerlengo]] of the time would on occasion communicate the death of a Pope to the British monarch (along with other rulers), and made occasional other communications. There was some discussion as to whether the Statute of Praemunire meant that no response could be made: the compromises reached included conveying messages on a 'private' rather than 'official' level, or going via the Hanoverian minister at London (responding as [[King of Hanover]]). Eventually it was decided that there was no legal obstacle to establishing formal diplomatic relations.<ref>FO 95/736, [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|The National Archives]]</ref>

The abolition in 1870 of forfeiture as a penalty for treason and felony did not apply to ''praemunire'' because it was a misdemeanour.<ref name="Kenny, C. 1936 p. 323"/>

As of the [[Criminal Law Act 1967]] coming into effect, praemunire facias is no longer an offence in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Afterwards, the  [[European Communities Act 1972 (UK)|European Communities Act 1972]] extended the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice to the United Kingdom, putting a final end to praemunire. Nevertheless, in a speech at the 2018 [[Conservative Party Conference (UK)|Conservative Party Conference]], during the political controversies associated with the [[Brexit negotiations]], [[Boris Johnson]] claimed that the authors of the [[Chequers plan]] risked prosecution for ''Praemunire''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brok |first1=Elmar|last2=Liekenbrock|first2=Anne|chapter=Brexit - The Negotiatiion Position of the EU 27  |editor-last1=Friedemann |editor-first1=Kainer |editor-last2= Repasi|editor-first2= René|title= Trade Relations After Brexit|year=2019 |isbn= 978-3-8452-9334-9|publisher=Nomos Verlag |page= 34|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6i5DwAAQBAJ&dq=praemunire+boris+johnson+guardian&pg=PA34}}</ref><ref name=Times>{{cite news |last= Coates|first= Sam|title=Boris Johnson takes aim at Michael Gove in crusade against Brexit 'bodge' |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/boris-johnson-takes-aim-at-michael-gove-in-crusade-against-brexit-bodge-pdx07hflg |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=3 October 2018 |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Times]]'', in a [[fact-check]] of Johnson's speech, noted that ''Praemunire'' had been repealed 51 years previously.<ref name=Times/>