CHAPTER ONE
General Provisions
PART II
JUSTIFICATIONS AND EXCUSES
Age of Criminal Responsibility
Presumption of mental disorder
27. A person accused of committing a crime shall be deemed to have been mentally ill at the time he or she committed the act in respect of which he or she is accused, —
(a) if he or she was prevented, by reason of mental disorder, from knowing the nature or consequences of the act in respect of which he or she is accused, or if he or she did know it, he or she did not know that what he or she was doing was contrary to law;
(b) if he or she did the act in respect of which he or she is accused under the influence of a delusion of such a nature as to render him or her, in the opinion of the jury or of the Court, an unfit person for punishment of any kind in respect of such act.
CHAPTER THREE
Procedure
PART VI
INDICTABLE TRIALS
SUB-PART C
Verdicts and Related Matters
Miscellaneous Matters
Issue of mentally abnormal on or before arraignment
1018.— (1) If any accused person appears before or upon arraignment, to be mentally ill, the Court may order a jury to be empanelled to try the sanity of the person, and the jury shall, after hearing evidence in that regard, find whether or not the person is mentally ill and unfit to take his or her trial and the jury shall, if it finds that the accused person is mentally ill, return a verdict that the person is mentally ill.
(2) A verdict under this section shall not affect the trial of any person found to be mentally ill for the offence for which he or she was indicted, if he or she subsequently becomes of sound mind.
Special verdict if jury finds that accused was mentally ill at time of offence
1019. Where, in any indictment, any act is charged against any person as an offence, and at the trial evidence is given that he or she was mentally ill, so as not to be responsible, according to law, for his or her actions at the time when the act was committed, then, if it appears to the jury that he or she committed the act charged, but was mentally ill at the time when he or she did it, the jury shall return a special verdict to the effect that the accused was guilty of the act with which he or she is charged but was mentally ill at the time when he or she committed the act.
Person found mentally ill may be detained at Governor-General’s pleasure
1020.— (1) Where the accused person is found to be mentally ill under section 1018 or has a special verdict found against him or her, under section 1019 the Court shall direct the finding of the jury to be recorded and the Court may order the person to be detained in safe custody, in such place and manner as the Court thinks fit.
(2) The Judge shall immediately report the finding of the jury to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who shall order the person to be dealt with as a person of unsound mind under the laws of this State for the time being in force for the care and custody of persons of unsound mind, or otherwise as he or she may think fit.
1. In addition to other grounds for excluding criminal responsibility provided for in this Statute, a person shall not be criminally responsible if, at the time of that person's conduct:
(a) The person suffers from a mental disease or defect that destroys that person's capacity to appreciate the unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct, or capacity to control his or her conduct to conform to the requirements of law;
(b) The person is in a state of intoxication that destroys that person's capacity to appreciate the unlawfulness or nature of his or her conduct, or capacity to control his or her conduct to conform to the requirements of law, unless the person has become voluntarily intoxicated under such circumstances that the person knew, or disregarded the risk, that, as a result of the intoxication, he or she was likely to engage in conduct constituting a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court;
(c) The person acts reasonably to defend himself or herself or another person or, in the case of war crimes, property which is essential for the survival of the person or another person or property which is essential for accomplishing a military mission, against an imminent and unlawful use of force in a manner proportionate to the degree of danger to the person or the other person or property protected. The fact that the person was involved in a defensive operation conducted by forces shall not in itself constitute a ground for excluding criminal responsibility under this subparagraph;
(d) The conduct which is alleged to constitute a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court has been caused by duress resulting from a threat of imminent death or of continuing or imminent serious bodily harm against that person or another person, and the person acts necessarily and reasonably to avoid this threat, provided that the person does not intend to cause a greater harm than the one sought to be avoided. Such a threat may either be:
(i) Made by other persons; or
(ii) Constituted by other circumstances beyond that person's control.