NCJ Number
133884
Date Published
1991
Length
434 pages
Annotation
Canadian criminal law is a mix of Federal and Provincial legislation, judicial interpretations of statutes and statutory instruments, and common law in which the unifying element is a set of principles of criminal culpability.
Abstract
The role played by these principles in judicial reasoning is structured by the surrounding framework of legislation. Canadian criminal law is still primarily a matter of common law, despite the abolition of common law offenses in the Federal Criminal Code. The law of criminal culpability identifies those persons who may be properly convicted of an offense and thereby exposed to punishment. General theories of criminal culpability and for the justification of punishment are reviewed. Elements of an offense are detailed including persuasive and evidentiary burdens, burden of proof, actus reus, and mens rea. The author also examines strict, absolute, inchoate, and secondary liability. He discusses justification, excuse, and criminal culpability; defense of the person; defense of property; and mental capacity and criminal liability especially in relation to insanity and intoxication. A table of cases is included. Footnotes