The Repeal of Certain Laws Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3. c. 71) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that repealed for Great Britain statutes against forestallers and engrossers, including the Forestallers Act 1551 (5 & 6 Edw. 6. c. 14).
Several statutes included, related to corn, meal, flour, cattle and sundry and others, had been found to have prevented free trade of those commodities, causing the price to increase:
Section 1 of the act repealed 6 enactments, listed in the section. Section 1 of the act also repealed any subsequent acts that were created to enforce those original acts.
Section 2 of the act voided all existing and future legal proceedings that were commenced under the repealed acts, ensuring that no person could be prosecuted under these former laws regardless of any contrary statutes.
The repeals in the act were found not to have been effectual, because of repeated prohibitions in previous acts. In 1800, John Rusby was indicted for having bought ninety quarters of oats at 41 shillings per quarter and selling thirty of them at 43 shillings the same day. Lord Kenyon, the presiding judge, argued strongly against the repealing act, and addressed the jury strongly against the accused. Rusby was heavily fined, but, on appeal, the court was equally divided as to whether engrossing, forestalling and regrating were still offences at common law.
The Forestalling, Regrating, etc. Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 24) extended the act to Ireland and repealed 19 other acts passed between the reigns of Henry III and Edward VI and extending repeals by the act to Ireland.
The act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 116) as it was spent.