Commentary on Sections Forfeiture Section 17 – Repeal of the Parricide Act
53.The Parricide Act 1594 – an Act of the Parliament of Scotland - makes provision for anyone killing a parent or grandparent to be disinherited. This section repeals the Parricide Act 1594, as recommended by the Commission, on the basis that it deals with a limited class of victims, disinherits the killer’s issue, appears to only apply to the victim’s heritable property and was ignored by the court in the case of Cross, Petr 1987 SLT 384. Subsection (1) provides that the Parricide Act 1594 is repealed. Subsection (2) clarifies that the forfeiture rule applies in relation to cases where a person has unlawfully killed the person’s parent or grandparent as it applies in relation to any other cases of unlawful killing.