CHAPTER IV-PUNISHMENTS CHAPTER IV-PUNISHMENTS 18
V- CRIMINAL SIBILITY
t. Ignorance of the law does not afford any excuse for an act or omission which would otberwise constitute an offence, unless knowledge of the law by the offender is expressly declared to be an element of the offence.
But a person is not criminally responsible, as for an offence relating to property, for an act done or omitted to be done by him with respect tu any property in the exercise of an honest claim of right and
without intention to defraud.
23, ~~~~~~~~~:
relating io negligent acts and omissions, a person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission which occurs independently of the exercise of his will, or for an event which occurs by accident.
Unless the intention to cause a particular result is expressly declared to be an element of the offence constituted, in whole or part, by an act or omission, the result intended to be caused by an act or omission is immaterial.
Unless otherwise expressly declared, the motive by which a person is induced to do or omit to do an act, or to form an intention, is immaterial so far as regards criminal responsibility.
act. A person who does or omits to do an act under an honest and reasonable, but mistaken, belief in the existence of any state of things is not c ~ i m ~ n a l ~ y respoiisible for the act or omission to any greater extent than if the real state of things had been such as he believed to exist.
The operation of this d e may be excluded by the express or implied provisions of the law relating to the subject.
inary E~~~~~~~~~~~ Subject to the express provisions of this e relating to acts done upon compulsion or provocation. or in self- defence, a person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission done or made under such circumstances of sudden or e x t r a ~ r ~ i n a r y emergency that an ordinary person possessing ordinary power of self- control could not reasonably be expected to act otherwise.
~~~~~~~~Q~ of Sanity. Every person is presumed to be of sound mind, and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question, until the contrary is proved.
dive. Subject to tbe express provisions of this Code
CRIMINAL CODE ss.27-31 35
~ ~A person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission ~ ~ ~ ~ y . if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is in such a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive him of capacity to understand what he is doing, or of capacity to control his actions, or of capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission.
A person whose mind, at the time of his doing or omitting to do an act, is affected by delusions on some specific matter or matters, but who is not otherwise entitled to the benefit of the foregoing provisions of this section, is criminally responsible for the act or Q I T I ~ S S ~ O ~ to the same extent as if the real state of things had been such as he was induced by the delusions to believe to exist.
oxi The provisions of the last preceding section apply to the
a person whose mind is disordered by intox~cation or ~ t ~ ~ p e f a c t ~ o n caused without intention on his part by drugs or intoxicating liquor or
by any other means.
They do not apply to the case of a person who has intentionally caused himself to become intoxicated or stupefied, whether in order to alford excuse for t e c o ~ ~ i s S ~ o n of an offence or not.
When an intention to cause a specific result is an element of an offence, ~ntoxication, whether complete or partial, and whether intentional or unintentional, may be regarded for the purpose of ascertaining whether such an intention in fact existed.
9. I e. A person under the age (of ten years is not criniinally responsible for any act or omission.
A person under the age of fifteen years is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, unless it is proved that at the time of doing the act or making the omission he had capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission.
A male person under the age of fourteen years is presumed to be incapable of having carnal knowledge.
As amended by Act of 1976, No. 25, s. 19 Sch.
am. Except as expressly provided by this Code, a judicial officer is not criminally responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by him in the exercise of his judicial functions, although the act done is in excess of his judicial authority, or although he is bound to do the act omitted to be done.
se: ~ ~ A person is not crimirzally ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Q ~ .
responsible for an act or omission, if he does or omits to do the act under any of the following circumstances, that is to say-
(1 ) In execution of the law;
(2) In obedience to the order o€ a competent authority which he is bound by law to obey, unless the order is manifestly unlawful;
( 3 ) When the act is reasonably necessary in order to resist actual and unlawful violence threatened ta him, or to another person in his presence;
(4) When he does or omits to do the act in order to save himself from immediate death or grievous bodily harm threatened to be inflicted upon him by some person actually present
36 SS. 32-35 CRIMINAL CODE
and in a position to execute the threats, and believing himself to be unable otherwise to escape the carrying of the threats into execution:
But this protection does not extend to an act or omission which would constitute the crime of treason or murder, or any of the crimes defined in the second para- graph of section eighty-one and in section eighty-two of this Code, or an offence of which grievous bodily harm to the person of another, or an intention to cause such harm, is an element, nor to a person who has by entering into an unlawful association or conspiracy rendered himself liable to have such threats made to him.
hether an order is or is not manifestly unlawful is a question
As amended by the Amendment Act of 1922, 13 Geo. 5 WO. 2, s. 3; Act of
of law.
1971, No. 41, s. 7.
d. A married w0man is not free from criminal ity for doing or omitting to do an. act merely because the act a married woman is not criminally responsible €or doing or to do an act which she is actually compelled by her husband to do or omit to do, and which is done or omitted to be done in his presence, except in the case of an act or omission which would constitute the crime of treason or murder, or any of the crimes defined in the second paragraph of section eighty-one and in section eighty-two of this Code, or an offence of which grievous bodily harm to the person of another, or an intention to cause such harm, is an element, in which case the presence of her husband is immaterial.
As amended by the Amendment Act of 1922, 13 Geo. 5 No. 2, s. 3; Act of 1971, WO. 41, s. 7.
e ~~~~~~ A husband and
wife are not criminally responsible for a conspiracy between. t h ~ m s ~ ~ v ~ s alone.
or omission takes place in the presence of her husband.
co-partnership, corporation, or joint stock company, does or omits to do any act with respect to the property of the co-partnership, corporation, or company, which, if he were net a member of the co-partnership, corporation, or company, would constitute an offence, is criminally responsible to the same extent as if he were not such member.
together, neither of them incurs any criminal responsibility for doing QP omitting to do any act with respect to the property of the other, except in the case of an act or omission of which an intention to injure or defraud some other person is an element, and except in the case of an act done by either of them when leaving or deserting, or when about to leave or desert, the other.
Subject to the foregoing provisions a husband and wife are, each of them, criminally responsible for any act done by him or her with respect to the property of the other, which would be an offence if they were not husband and wife, and to the same extent as if they were not husband and wife.
CRIMINAL CODE fS. 36,37 37
But neither of them can institute criminal proceedings against the other while they are living together.
Upon the prosecution of a husband on the complaint of his wife for an offence committed with respect to her property, and upon the prosecution of a wife on the complaint of her husband for an offence committed with respect to his property, the wife or husband, as the case may be, is a competent and compellable witness,
In this section the term “property” used with respect to a wife means her separate property.
36, A e The provisions of this Chapter apply to all persons charged with any offence against the Statute Law of ~ ~ e ~ n s l a n d . of