The act was rendered necessary by the lack of a legitimate English government in control of the whole country since the outbreak of the Civil War.

It then authorised subsisting the temporary continuance of legal proceedings, though begun by writs and so on using the titles of previous "usurping" rulers.

There were several exceptions to this: The act ended by lamenting that it was "necessary to mention Diverse pretensed Acts and Ordinances" of the previous rulers and declaring their titles "most Rebellious, Wicked, Trayterous and Abominable Usurpations Detested by this present Parliament as opposite in the Highest Degree to His Sacred Majestyes most Just and undoubted Right to whom and to His Heires and Lawfull Successors the Imperiall Crownes" belonged.

[1] This together with the Act of Oblivion put an end to legal doubts over the events of the preceding period.

St. 1. c. 15), had to be passed the following year to deal with certain issues arising out the exclusion from the Act of Oblivion and from the attainder of the Regicides.