Forfeiture Act 1870
The Forfeiture Act 1870 is a British Act of Parliament that abolished the automatic forfeiture of goods and land as a punishment for treason and felony. It does not apply to Scotland. Although mostly repealed today, section 2 remains in force and states that anyone convicted of treason shall be disqualified from holding public office, shall lose his right to vote in elections, and lose his pension.
Prior to the Act being passed, a person convicted of treason or felony automatically and permanently forfeited all of his lands and possessions to the Crown.
The offence of praemunire, which was also punished with forfeiture, was not treason or felony but only a misdemeanour, and so the Act did not apply to it.
