Administration of Justice Act

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Administration of Justice Act, British act (1774) that had the stated purpose of ensuring a fair trial for British officials who were charged with capital offenses while upholding the law or quelling protests in Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was one of several punitive measures, known as the Intolerable Acts, that the British government enacted in retaliation for American colonial defiance.

The winter of 1773–74 saw a rise in colonial hostilities, with Boston appearing as the centre of the unrest, especially after the Boston Tea Party (December 1773). In an attempt to assert authority, the British Parliament began enacting repressive laws for Massachusetts Bay. On May 20, 1774—the same day it passed the Massachusetts Government Act, which repealed the colony’s charter (1691)—the Administration of Justice Act was approved. Its stated goal was “the impartial administration of justice in the cases of persons questioned for any acts done by them in the execution of the law, or for the suppression of riots and tumults” in Massachusetts Bay, which it claimed was “disordered.” To that end, it allowed trials involving British officials charged with capital offenses, including murder, to be moved to England or another colony. Many colonists believed that relocating the trials would guarantee acquittals for the accused, and they thus began referring to the measure as the “Murder Act.”

Rather than reimpose British control, however, the Administration of Justice Act—as well as the other Intolerable Acts—only furthered colonial unrest. Indeed, the acts became the justification for the convening of the First Continental Congress in September 1774. The American Revolution began the following year.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.