40. The following rules shall be observed in the case of deaf- mutes who have acted with a mischievous discretion:
(a) if at the time of the offence they have attained the age of fourteen but not the age of eighteen years, the provisions contained in articles 36 and 37 shall apply;
(b) if at the time of the offence they have attained the age of eighteen years -
(i) in the case of a crime liable to the punishment of imprisonment for life, they shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years;
(ii) in the case of any other crime, they shall be liable to the punishment established by law diminished by one-third;
(iii) in the case of contraventions, they shall be liable to the punishments established for contraventions.
227. Wilful homicide shall be excusable -
(c) where it is committed by any person acting under the first transport of a sudden passion or mental excitement in consequence of which he is, in the act of committing the crime, incapable of reflecting;
the offender shall be deemed to be incapable of reflecting whenever the homicide be in fact attributable to heat of blood and not to a deliberate intention to kill or to cause a serious injury to the person, and the cause be such as would, in persons of ordinary temperament, commonly produce the effect of rendering them incapable of reflecting on the consequences of the crime;
402. (1) The terms referred to in the last preceding article, in article 407 and in article 432(3) shall be held in abeyance -
(a) if it is alleged or if there is reason to believe that the accused was insane at the time of the offence or that he is insane at the time of the inquiry;
(b) if the accused owing to illness or for any other cause, is unable to appear;
(c) if there has been any order for the examination of any witness or for any other process of the inquiry under article 399;
(d) when the court accedes to a request made in terms of article 46(3) of the Constitution(2) .
(2) Such terms may also be held in abeyance -
(a) if any witness is so infirm as to be unable to give evidence even in his place of abode;
(b) if the accused cannot be found and there is reason to believe that he has absconded or left Malta.
(3) In the case referred to in sub-article (1)(a), the court shall appoint one or more experts to examine the accused and the facts relating to the alleged insanity.
(4) If from the report of the experts, it appears that the accused was insane at the time of the commission of the offence, the court shall order that the Attorney General shall be given access by electronic means to a scanned copy of the record of the inquiry within three (3) working days and shall make an order as provided in article 623.
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.