Conspiracy, and Protection of Property Act 1875

The Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 86) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to labour relations, which together with the Employers and Workmen Act 1875, fully decriminalised the work of trade unions. Based on an extension of the conclusions of the Cockburn Commission, it was introduced by a Conservative government under Benjamin Disraeli.^[3]

Conspiracy, and Protection of Property Act 1875^[1]

Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for amending the Law relating to Conspiracy, and to the Protection of Property, and for other purposes.
Citation	38 & 39 Vict. c. 86
Dates
Royal assent	13 August 1875
Commencement	1 September 1875.[2]
Other legislation
Repeals/revokes	Statute of Artificers 1562
Repealed by	Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008
Status: Repealed
Text of the Conspiracy, and Protection of Property Act 1875 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Act held that a trade union could not be prosecuted for act which would be legal if conducted by an individual.^[4] This meant that labour disputes were civil matters, not for consideration by criminal courts.^[3] One result of this was that picketing was decriminalised.^[5] The law also made certain forms of stalking illegal.^[6]

Sections 6 and 7 of this Act were repealed for the Republic of Ireland by the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, section 31 and schedule.

The Act has been repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008 (c. 12), Schedule 1, Part 3.

The provisions of the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1878 of South Australia,^[7] the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1889 of Tasmania,^[8] and the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1900 of Western Australia,^[9] were derived from the Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875.

See also

• Trade Union Act 1871

References

• Thomas James Arnold. The Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 86), and the Employers and Workmen Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 90). Shaw & Sons. Fetter Lane and Crane Court, London. 1876. Google Books.
• George Howell. A Handy-Book of the Labour Laws. Third Edition, Revised. Macmillan & Co. London (and New York). 1895. Chapters 4 and 5. Pages 37 to 58.

1. This short title was conferred on this Act by section 1 of this Act.
2. The Conspiracy, and Protection of Property Act 1875, section 2
3. Review of Governments, Labour, and the law in mid-Victorian Britain: the trade union legislation of the 1870s Archived 2006-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, Mark Curthoys
4. Conspiracy & Protection of Property Act Archived 14 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Spartacus Education
5. Timeline:1850-1880, TUC history online, Professor Mary Davis, Centre for Trade Union Studies, London Metropolitan University
6. Excerpt from the Conspiracy, and Protection of Property Act, 1875 Archived 2006-04-01 at the Wayback Machine, Unfair Discrimination in the Scottish State Education System
7. Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. International Labour Conference. 85th Session, 1997. Report 3. p 147
8. The Public General Acts of Tasmania. (Reprint). Classified and Annotated 1826-1936. Butterworth & Co (Australia) Ltd. Sidney, New South Wales. 1936. Volume 3. Page 569.
9. Fleming, John G. The Law of Torts. 3rd Edition. Law Book Company of Australasia. 1965. p 666.