Amnesty

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For the human rights organization, see Amnesty International.

Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is an act of justice by which the supreme power in a state restores those who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the position of innocent persons. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offence.

Amnesties, which, in the United Kingdom, may be granted by the crown alone, or by an act of Parliament, were formerly usual on coronations and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified exceptions. Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded amnesty, that of Thrasybulus at Athens, the thirty tyrants and a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of Charles II of England did not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his father. Other famous amnesties include: Napoleon's amnesty of March 13, 1815 from which thirteen eminent persons, including Talleyrand, were exempt; the Prussian amnesty of August 10, 1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the emperor Franz Josef I of Austria in 1857; the general amnesty granted by President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, after the American Civil War (1861-April 9, 1865), in 1868, and the French amnesty of 1905. The last act of amnesty passed in Great Britain was that of 1747, which pardonned those who had taken part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising.

[edit] Related uses of the term

• The term amnesty is also used to describe any initiative where individuals are encouraged to turn over illicit items to the authorities, on the understanding that they will not be prosecuted for having been in possession of those items. A common use of such amnesties, is to reduce the number of firearms or other weapons in circulation. Several public schools with a zero-tolerance policy on drugs or weapons have an "amnesty box" in which students may dispose of contraband objects brought to school without consequence.

• Amnesty was used in South Africa, during the 1990s, as part of the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission), which was chaired by Desmond Tutu. This process attempted to promote reconciliation by revealing the truth about the abuses of the Apartheid era, with the guilty party giving a full disclosure of their crimes in exchange for a full pardon. In this way, the government led by Nelson Mandela hoped to use amnesty to bring South Africa closer to democracy.

• Many libraries have an amnesty week where people can return late library books and they will not be charged a fine for having them out.

[edit] Improper uses of the term

• Referring to imposed lesser sentences or punishments that are not "more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offence" as Amnesty.

• The term Amnesty is often wrongly used for political reasons to define an act of leniency [1].