westminster the first statute of
Westminster the First, Statute of. Hist. An English statute divided into 51 chapters (later correlating to separate acts of Parliament), including provisions (1) protecting the property of the church from the violence and spoliation of the Crown and nobles; (2) providing for the freedom of popular elections; (3) enforcing the rules contained in Magna Carta against excessive fines; (4) enumerating and correcting the abuses of tenures (esp. concerning marriages of wards); (5) regulating the levying of tolls; (6) correcting and restraining the powers of the royal escheator and other officers; (7) amending the criminal law (esp. by classifying rape as a most grievous, though not capital, offense); and (8) making criminal and civil procedures more expeditious and less costly. 3 Edw. (1275).
