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treason

Translation
treason
/tree"zeuhn/, n.
1. the offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign.
2. a violation of allegiance to one's sovereign or to one's state.
3. the betrayal of a trust or confidence; breach of faith; treachery.
[1175-1225; ME tre(i)so(u)n < AF; OF traïson < L tradition- (s. of traditio) a handing over, betrayal. See TRADITION]
Syn. 1. TREASON, SEDITION mean disloyalty or treachery to one's country or its government. TREASON is any attempt to overthrow the government or impair the well-being of a state to which one owes allegiance; the crime of giving aid or comfort to the enemies of one's government. SEDITION is any act, writing, speech, etc., directed unlawfully against state authority, the government, or constitution, or calculated to bring it into contempt or to incite others to hostility, ill will or disaffection; it does not amount to treason and therefore is not a capital offense. 2. See disloyalty.

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Offense of attempting to overthrow the government of one's country or of assisting its enemies in war.

In the U.S., the framers of the Constitution defined treason narrowly
as the levying of war against the U.S. or the giving of aid and comfort to its enemies
in order to lessen the possibility that those in power might falsely or loosely charge their political opponents with treason. See also sedition.

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▪ crime
      the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch's enemies. It is also treason to violate the monarch's consort, eldest unmarried daughter, or heir's wife.

      In the United States, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. History had taught them that men in power might falsely or loosely charge treason against their opponents; therefore, they denied Congress the authority to enlarge or reshape the offense. Treason against the United States “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”

      The Japanese law of treason places special emphasis on acts designed to frustrate the country's alliances with other powers. This is mainly a consequence of Japan's renunciation of war after World War II. A Japanese citizen may thus be punished for advocating war against another nation. See also sedition.

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Universalium. 2010.

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