NCJ Number
115092
Date Published
1987
Length
446 pages
Annotation
This report presents and explains the new Code of Substantive Criminal Law for Canada proposed by the Law Reform Commission of Canada.
Abstract
The report represents a revision of a previous report, which was tabled by Parliament in 1986 and which received favorable preliminary reactions by the criminal justice community and the public. The proposed code is the result of 15 years of research and discussions. Its four goals are comprehensiveness, simplicity, systematization, and principle. The code defines most of the crimes of concern to a modern industrialized society while addressing archaic provision. It also aims to minimize the use of technical terms and complex sentence structures and focuses on general principles rather than unnecessary specifics. The code uses a structure similar to that of the current code. Substantive criminal law is divided into a general part containing rules of general application and a special part defining particular crimes. Separate sections list crimes against the person, crimes against property, crimes against the natural order, crimes against the social order, and crimes against the governmental order. The code also shows the rules on conduct and culpability and on absence of culpability due to youth or mental unfitness. Extraterritorial jurisdiction of Canadian courts is also covered.