Insanity - national proceedings

Ethiopia

Ethiopia - Criminal Code 2005 EN

PART I

GENERAL PART

BOOK I

CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

TITLE III

CONDITIONS OF LIABILITY TO PUNISHMENT IN RESPECT OF

CRIMES

CHAPTER I

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Section I.- Ordinary Responsibility

Article 48.- Criminal Responsibility and Irresponsibility.

(2) A person is not responsible for his acts under the law when, owing to age, illness, abnormal delay in his development, deterioration of his mental faculties, one of the causes specified under Article 49 sub-article 1 or any other similar biological cause, he was incapable at the time of his act, of understanding the nature or consequences of his act, or of regulating his conduct according to such understanding .

PART I

GENERAL PART

BOOK I

CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

TITLE III

CONDITIONS OF LIABILITY TO PUNISHMENT IN RESPECT OF

CRIMES

CHAPTER I

CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Section I.- Ordinary Responsibility

49.- Partial Responsibility.

(1) He who owing to one of the causes specified under Article 48 sub-article (2) above, or a derangement or an abnormal or deficient condition or any other similar biological cause was, at the time of his act, partially incapable of understanding the nature or consequences thereof or regulating his conduct according to such understanding shall be partially liable to the punishment specified for the crime committed. The court shall determine the sentence in accordance with Article 180.

(2) In addition to a penalty the Court may order such appropriate measures of treatment, correction or protection as are provided by law (Arts. 129-13 1) .

Rome Statute

Article 31 Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility

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.