Treason Research Articles

Differentiation of criminal liability for various forms of high treason

The article is devoted to the differentiation of criminal liability for various forms of treason. Using the experience of Ukraineafter the occupation of its territories by the Russian Federation in 2014 and legal doctrine, analyzed some forms of crime under Art. 111of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.Such forms of treason are considered as: 1) transition to the side of the enemy in a state of martial law or during an armed conflict;2) espionage; 3) providing assistance to a foreign state, foreign organization or their representatives in carrying out subversive activitiesagainst Ukraine. Emphasis is placed on the fact that the statistics of convictions for treason and the actual number of servicemen, lawenforcement officers, judges, and civil servants who have sided with the enemy differ significantly. Difficulties and contradictions inlaw enforcement are revealed, ways of their elimination are offered.Based on the study of each of the forms of treason, the responsibility for which is provided by Art. 111 of the Criminal Code ofUkraine, revealed a significant difference in the degree of public danger of such acts. Analysis of the practice of national courts also showsthat for this crime under Art. 69 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine often imposed a milder punishment than provided by law. Ta king intoaccount the above, as well as the experience of the legislation of states such as Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, it is proposed to providein a separate article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to allocate such a form of treason as providing assistance to a foreign state, foreignorganization or their representatives. According to the author, this act should be defined as a not particularly serious crime, which shouldbe punishable by imprisonment for up to ten years. This will avoid the unjustified severity of the criminal law, and in the event of a politicaldecision to reintegrate the occupied territories, apply amnesty to those who will be prosecuted for such a crime after the conviction.

Charles V’s ‘Encomium Mori’ as Reported By Ambassador Elyot

William Roper is the author of the first and most influential biography of Sir Thomas More, his father-in-law, finished in 1557. As stated in this source, shortly after More’s execution for high treason at the Tower of London (1535), the Emperor Charles V met Thomas Elyot then serving as ambassador at the imperial court. The content of this meeting was later on disclosed by Elyot himself to some members of More’s closest circle, among them Roper himself, whose testimony has remained the ultimate source of the episode. As soon as Charles had come to know about More’s execution, he communicated the news to Elyot and shared with him his admiration for the ex-Chancellor. Several scholars, however, have questioned the reliability of Roper’s memory in the light of historical evidence for Elyot’s whereabouts at the time of More’s death. This paper revises the main stances in the discussion of this episode, and brings into consideration other issues that might cast some light, not only on the details of this story, but also on the relationship between these two Thomases (More and Elyot) and Charles, the most powerful ruler in Europe at the time.

Donosicielstwo, niespełnione ambicje czy zdrada stanu?

Informants, Unfulfilled Ambitions or High Treason? Problems of the Educational Environment of Stanisławów in the Years 1914-1915 in the Light of the Investigation into Michał Jezienicki, the Head of the 1st Gimnasium
 The author uses the files from the investigation into Michał Jezienicki, the head of the 1st Gymnasium with Polish as the language of instruction, to take a closer look at the problems faced by the citizens of Stanisławów during the first Russian occupation. The files have allowed to recreate the atmosphere between the members of the school community and answer the question to what extent it was a derivative of the headmaster’s nervousness and to what extent due to the unfulfilled ambitions of Teofil Erben, the German language teacher who initiated the investigation into Jezienicki. Thus, the article shows the problem of informants, widespread during the First World War, and the issue of loyalty to the Habsburg monarchy, which was still considered very profitable by many members of the elite.

Can the Penalties for Treason Co-Exist With the Concept of Private Property?

Charles Yorke’s book, Some Considerations on the Law of Forfeiture, for High Treason, is 274 years old. Nevertheless, it has modern relevance. President Trump, prominent members of Congress (e.g., Senator Kamala Harris), and Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing (in an exchange with Senator Lindsey Graham4) have recently discussed law related to treason.

Mujeres, agencia política y violencia contrarrevolucionaria en España (1934-1944)

Este artículo trata de hacer un repaso por diez años de gran violencia política en España, para comprobar de qué modo las mujeres del bloque contrarrevolucionario participaron de la misma. En contra de lo que se había considerado hasta ahora, las ciudadanas de derechas no fueron meros actores secundarios ni víctimas pasivas de los altercados callejeros y las guerras que se sucedieron entre la insurrección de octubre de 1934 y la retirada de la División Azul del frente ruso. Gracias a una utilización pionera de fuentes de investigación de naturaleza jurídica y militar, como los tribunales de alta traición y espionaje, conservados con la Causa General en Salamanca, o los archivos del SIPM (Servicio de Información y Policía Militar), en Ávila, comprobaremos cómo las españolas formaron parte de la médula espinal del quintacolumnismo que colaboró en la victoria franquista durante la Guerra Civil, desplegando un repertorio de lucha y desobediencia civil genuinamente femenino. Es decir, identificaremos qué puestos ocupaban las mujeres en las labores de sabotaje y boicot a la República y por qué se las escogió a ellas, atendiendo al rol de género de determinadas actividades que resultaron imprescindibles a los sublevados.

‘The rulebook – our constitution’: a study of the ‘Austrian Commonwealth’s’ language use and the creation of identity through ideological in- and out-group presentation and legitimation

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes the use of language in the construction of identity in the constitution of an anti-state group, which is a part of the sovereign citizen movement in Austria. The group, called ‘Staatenbund Österreich’ (‘Austrian Commonwealth’), had been active for several years before the government charged them with high treason. The group believes that the government is illegitimate – an assumption which allows them to legitimize their behavior. The movement, which is spreading across the globe, has started in the US in the 1970s, and yet, it is still impossible to estimate the actual danger they pose, even though they have been reported to become increasingly violent. The present paper investigates the constitution of the ‘Austrian Commonwealth’ in order to find out how they manage to create an identity for their group, how they legitimize themselves and their claims, and how their language use compares to other extremist groups.

Roger Casement in the twenty-first century: the public and private faces of a multi-media Irish hero

Sir Roger Casement (1864-1916) was a diplomat in the British Colonial Service and an Irish nationalist who was hanged for high treason in London in 1916. This article offers a critical overview of the material that has been published about Casement's humanitarian work in the Congo and the Peruvian Amazon and his trial in London, including biographies and editions of his own journals, particularly the so-called Black Diaries, as well as the various dramatisations of this material for the stage and other media, concentrating on those produced in the twenty-first century. The second part of the article consists of the playwright’s account of the writing of As Duas Mortes de Roger Casement, which received its premiere in São Paulo in 2016, commenting on the play’s relationship to its sources and the decisions that were taken in the creative process.

A Cold War Literary Mystery: Agents, Manipulation and Patterns of Ideology in the Translated Oeuvre of Theun de Vries

ABSTRACT This paper deals with how ideological factors influence the transfer of literature through translation between what translation sociology calls ‘peripheral languages’. The international dissemination of the literary oeuvre of the Dutch communist writer Theun de Vries (1907–2005) in translation stands in the centre of this investigation, which focuses on three questions: 1.) How the transfer of literary products from a peripheral language into both peripheral and central languages takes place, and what specific dynamics can be shown to shape these translation flows. 2.) How ideology plays a role in shaping translation flows. 3.) How methodological tools from translation sociology can and cannot be used to investigate literary export from peripheral literatures. Through the case study of the translation of De Vries’ novel Hoogverraad [High Treason] (1950) into Hungarian the details and dynamics of Cold War cultural transfer and literary manipulation are analysed.

Criminological profile of a perpetrator of a high treason

The article presents the analysis of specific criminological features of the persons who have committed high treason in order to know their typical criminological profile. For the purpose of that, 39 court decisions of the Unified State Register of Judgments (hereinafter: USRJ) of Ukraine, which were made against persons who committed this type of crime, were examined. Socio-demographic (gender, age, education, nationality) and criminal-law (motivation of the criminal behavior, single or group criminal character of criminal activity, duration of criminal activity, presence or absence of criminal record, etc.) were estimated in investigation. Generalization and interpretation of the results of court decisions made it possible to simulate a typical criminological profile of the perpetrator of the state treason and to identify certain specific characteristics of the subjects of this crime. It is concluded that knowledge of the criminological profile of the state traitor is of great importance for the profile of criminals by law enforcement agencies, which are empowered to prevent crime in the field of national security.

ПРОБЛЕМИ КВАЛІФІКАЦІЇ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ЗРАДИ НА СУЧАСНОМУ ЕТАПІ

На підставі вивчення судової практики Касаційного кримінального суду в складі Верховного Суду зроблено висновок про різну кримінально-правову оцінку збройних конфліктів на території України. Це спричиняє застосування, ст. 111 КК України, в одно-му випадку, і ст. 258-3 КК України – в іншому. Приділено увагу міжнародній правовій оцінці збройних конфліктів на території України. Наголошується на значенні прова-джень Міжнародного кримінального суду, рішення якого здатні вплинути на розв’я-зання проблем кваліфікації державної зради.

High treason. The activity of The Communist Party of Western Belarus in Vilnius in 1930–1935

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to explain the activities of the Communist Party of Western Belarus in Vilnius during the fi rst half of the thirties of the twentieth century. The author’s aim is to show the organisation, theory and practice of this illegal party. Further-more, the intention is to present the activities of Vilnius police towards communist sym-pathizers and activists. Founded in 1923 in Vilnius, the Communist Party of Western Belaruswas a branch of The Communist Party of Poland. This organization like the polish communist party was illegal. Its aim was to combat the Polish state and to perform electioneering for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Although the name of the party could indicate a desire for independence of Belarus, in practice it was for the removal of the north eastern provinces of the Second Republic of Poland to the USSR. CPWB activity had a special dimension in Vilnius. As the region’s largest city and former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnus was home for many nations, religions and cultures. Moreover, Vil-nius was the most important fi eld for communist action. Given the number of inhabitants, industrialized multi-ethnic character, communists had the opportunity to develop wide subversive and conspiratorial work. In addition, the city was the great centre of production and distribution of communist publications, which allowed the spread of propaganda in both its administrative boundaries and in the Vilnius Voivodeship.

Nyheder og/eller falske nyheder?

Taking off from El prodigio de Alemania [The Wonder in Germany, 1634], a recently discovered collaborative play by Calderon and Coello about general Albrecht von Wallenstein, this article discusses the conception of factuality informing Golden Age dramatic representations of contemporaneous history. Vis-a-vis the recurrent critical disparagement of this type of drama as artistically inferior propaganda, I will demonstrate the dramatists’ delicate handling of the breaking news about Wallenstein’s death and their use of advanced aesthetic and performative devices to stimulate audience thinking about Wallenstein’s destiny: Why did he become a traitor? Highlighting the subtle doublespeak informing especially the epilogue and the protagonist’s great monologue, I will argue that the play is at once loyal and critical toward Habsburg policy: it follows the official explanation of the general’s murder — that he was planning high treason — yet at the same time demonstrates an essentially interrogatory conception of factuality that invites reflection on what is historical “truth”.

Constructing a traitor: The case of Guichard of Troyes, the nominal bishop of Bosnia in the early fourteenth century

In 1314 Bishop Guichard of Troyes was transferred from the lucrative Episcopal See of Champagne to the Episcopal See of Bosnia, with the seat in Diakovar (nowadays Djakovo, Croatia). This was the consequence of a lengthy trial that baffled both contemporaries and historians alike, and which included a plethora of charges – most notably high treason, murder of the Queen and her mother through witchcraft, heresy, etc. To explain beyond factual reality, the paper regards the concept of treason for which Guichard was tried. To comprehend the methods of construction of treason in Guichard’s case, the paper examines features beyond the accusations and deposited witness testimonies: the social, religious and legal transformations; similarities with contemporary trials of the Templars and of the deceased Pope Boniface VIII. This will facilitate comprehension of the elements that construct or add to the concept of treason and the contemporary notions and institutions that permitted it.

Arrest and Сonviction of Cardinal József Mindszenty 1948–1949. Part 2. “Most pitiful prisoner of the country”

As a result of the political struggle that unfolded in Hungary after the Second World War, the only independent institution remaining in the country was the Catholic Church headed by the Archbishop of Esztergom, Cardinal József Mindszenty. Part One of the article reconstructs the investigation and political process against the primate, who was arrested on charges of high treason, preparing a coup aimed at overthrowing the republican system, espionage, and currency speculation. Part Two deals with the political process and show trial of Mindszenty. The hearings began on 3 February 1949 at the Budapest People’s Court, and, on 8 February 1949, the guilty verdict was announced. The facts were so cleverly manipulated that Mindszenty’s hopes for a change in the political system in the country were qualified as a political conspiracy. The cardinal was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of civil rights, and complete confiscation of property. While preparing for the court of second instance, Mindszenty put forward new projects aimed at reconciling the state and the Church. Deeply disappointed, the cardinal signed his letters “condemned”, “prisoner”, and “condemned archbishop”. The show-trial and long prison confinement only strengthened the cardinal’s faith. This article is based on documents held by the Hungarian National Archives, the Historical Archives of the State Security Services, the Esztergom Primate Archives, the Archives of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the National Archives and Records Administration (USA), and others.

Criminal Liability for High Treason in the Criminal Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Союз криминалистов и криминологов 2020. № 3, Юридическая, Мацкевич И.М., электронная книга, печатная книга, скачать, купить, загрузить, читать, онлайн, PDF, TXT, EPUB, купить, заказать, заказ, интернет-магазин, ЛитГид, LitGid.com,

‘Shoot the Boer’ – Hate Speech, Law and the Expediency of Sound

In recent years, “Shoot the Boer” (“Dubul’ ibhunu”), a well-known protest song from the apartheid era, experienced an unexpected revival in the streets of South Africa—and the courts. The article traces the history of the intersection of the song and the law as it meandered through an intricate topography of cases, rules and regulations ranging from the common-law crime of high treason, apartheid “anti-terrorism” and “anti-communism” law, post-apartheid constitutional law and the Broadcasting Code of Conduct. In contrast to established judicial practice where hate speech is reduced to its verbal dimension and sound serves as an expedient and abject to be invoked and discarded at will, the article focuses on sound as an equally pertinent criterion for regulating expressions such as “Shoot the Boer.”

BAD NEWS FROM THE FRONT AND FROM ABOVE: BOMBING RAIDS, MILITARY FATALITIES AND THE DEATH PENALTY IN NAZI GERMANY

We examine how the decision‐making of political elites respond to an imminent external threat to the existence of the state in times of war. To do so, we exploit exogeneous variation in exposure to battle deaths and bombing raids to estimate the effect of variation in the intensity of war on the probability that individuals charged with treason and/or high treason in Nazi Germany received the death sentence. A doubling of the number of military fatalities as well as bombing raids in the same week in which a defendant was sentenced increased the likelihood of receiving the death penalty by about 10 percentage points. (JEL K14, N44)

JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS ON JOZEF TISO AND ITS INFLUENCE ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL LIFE IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1946 – 1947

Мета статті – дослідити перебіг судового процесу над Йозефом Тісо та розкрити його вплив на суспільно-політичне життя в Чехословаччині 1946 – 1947 рр. Методологія дослідження спирається на загальнонаукові принципи історизму, об’єктивності, системного підходу, дослідження подій, зокрема їх виникнення та розвитку, взаємозв’язку, взаємозалежності та комплексності. Реалізація цих принципів дозволила уникнути у роботі непослідовності, неконкретності, відірваності від об’єктивного історичного процесу під час дослідження. Наукова новизна полягає у тому, що автор висвітлює вплив судового процесу над колишнім президентом Словацької держави Й. Тісо на загострення політичної боротьби в державі, ставлення громадськості та католицької церкви до цих подій. Судовий процес над Й. Тісо в грудні 1946 р. – квітні 1947 р. став важливою подією в житті словацького суспільства. Він викрив комплекс існуючих у чесько-словацьких відносинах проблем та протиріч, а також загострив політичну боротьбу в Словаччині, передусім між Комуністичною та Демократичною партіями. Суд над Й. Тісо став лакмусовим папірцем, що розділив словацьке суспільство на два табори: для одних він був зрадником та військовим злочинцем, а для інших, переважно католиків за віросповіданням, залишався національним героєм. Смертний вирок Й. Тісо відповідав інтересам чехословацької влади, оскільки в його особі засуджувався не лише президент самопроголошеної Словацької держави, але й людацтво з його ідеями незалежності Словаччини в цілому. Судовий процес над Й. Тісо вплинув на послаблення позицій Демократичної партії в державі, чим досить вдало скористалися комуністи на шляху до монополії влади в Чехословаччині.

Gobernar los espacios monetarios: ciudad, grupos de poder y control de la moneda falsa en Galicia al final del Antiguo Régimen

La integridad de la moneda fue una de las principales preocupaciones comunes a todas las monarquías europeas durante los siglos modernos. Este hecho se pone claramente de manifiesto en la catalogación jurídica del delito de falsificación monetaria entre aquellos considerados de lesa majestad. Sin embargo, es necesario profundizar en nuestro conocimiento sobre los mecanismos concretos de los que dispuso la Monarquía Hispánica para ejecutar el control cotidiano de tan apreciada regalía. En este sentido, tanto el siglo XVIII como el contexto urbano parecen espacios adecuados para buscar algunas respuestas.

The Trial of Thomas Hardy

November 5, 2019, is the 225th anniversary of the acquittal of Thomas Hardy on charges of High Treason. Hardy is nearly forgotten today, but for decades workers and democrats in England celebrated November 5 as the anniversary of a major victory, a triumph over a powerful state that had deployed immense resources to crush working-class organizations and suppress popular demands for democratic rights.