Law of the Great Terror
E494825
The Law of the Great Terror was a radical decree passed during the French Revolution that drastically expanded the powers of the Revolutionary Tribunal, curtailed defendants’ rights, and accelerated mass executions at the height of the Reign of Terror.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
decree
ⓘ
legal instrument ⓘ revolutionary law ⓘ |
| abolished | formal defense counsel for most accused ⓘ |
| aimedAt |
eliminating perceived enemies of the Revolution
ⓘ
speeding up revolutionary justice ⓘ |
| allowedVerdicts |
acquittal
ⓘ
death ⓘ |
| appliedIn | French First Republic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| approvedBy | National Convention NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
Committee of Public Safety
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Maximilien Robespierre NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| cameIntoForceDuring | Reign of Terror NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contributedTo |
growing opposition to Robespierre
ⓘ
radicalization of the Terror ⓘ |
| country | France ⓘ |
| dateEnacted | 1794-06-10 ⓘ |
| dateEnactedFrenchRepublicanCalendar | 22 Prairial Year II ⓘ |
| expandedPowersOf | Revolutionary Tribunal NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| field |
French revolutionary history
ⓘ
legal history ⓘ |
| hasAlternativeName |
Law of 22 Prairial
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Loi du 22 prairial an II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | symbol of the extremity of revolutionary justice in 1794 ⓘ |
| increased | number of executions in Paris ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | Paris Revolutionary Tribunal NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | French ⓘ |
| legalBasisFor | mass executions during the Great Terror ⓘ |
| limitedRightsOf | defendants ⓘ |
| partOf |
French Revolution
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Reign of Terror NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| politicalContext |
Committee of Public Safety dominance
ⓘ
Jacobin dictatorship NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precededBy | Law of Suspects NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| proposedBy | Georges Couthon NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reduced | evidentiary requirements for conviction ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Committee of General Security
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Revolutionary Tribunal NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| removed |
possibility of sentence other than death or acquittal in many political cases
ⓘ
right of appeal ⓘ |
| restricted |
defense counsel
ⓘ
witness testimony for the defense ⓘ |
| simplified | criminal procedure ⓘ |
| statedCriterionForConviction | moral proof rather than strictly material evidence ⓘ |
| strengthened | central control over political trials ⓘ |
| targeted |
political opponents of the Jacobins
ⓘ
suspected counter-revolutionaries ⓘ |
| timePeriod | Great Terror NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.