Criminal Code (Canada)
The Criminal Code (French: Code criminel) is a law of the Parliament of Canada that codifies most, but not all, criminal offences and criminal procedure in Canada. Its official long title is An Act respecting the Criminal Law (French: Loi concernant le droit criminel). It is indexed in the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985 as chapter number C-46 and it is sometimes abbreviated as Cr.C. (French: C.Cr.) in legal reports. Section 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867 establishes that the Parliament of Canada has sole jurisdiction over criminal law. Accordingly, the Criminal Code applies to the entirety of the country, meaning that in Canada, all crimes which are defined under the Criminal Code are federal crimes and can be prosecuted anywhere they occur in or out of the country.
The Criminal Code contains some defences, but most are part of the common law rather than statute. Important Canadian criminal laws not forming part of the Code include the Firearms Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Canada Evidence Act, the Food and Drugs Act, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the Customs Act, and the Contraventions Act. The Code underwent a major revision in 1954, which came into force in April 1955, but nonetheless remains the fundamental criminal law of Canada, despite several initiatives at major reform or the enactment of a new criminal code entirely. In 2018, and later 2019, the Trudeau government made a large revision to the Code which repealed numerous unconstitutional or archaic offences that had remained in it up to that point.
One of the conveniences of the Criminal Code was that it constituted the principle that no person could be convicted of a crime unless otherwise specifically outlined and stated in a statute. This legal document has played a major part in Canada's history and has also helped form other legal acts and laws, for example, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Structure
- Part I — General
- Part II — Offences Against Public Order
- Part II.1 — Terrorism
- Part III — Firearms and Other Weapons
- Part IV — Offences Against the Administration of Law and Justice
- Part V — Sexual Offences, Public Morals and Disorderly Conduct
- Part VI — Invasion of Privacy
- Part VII — Disorderly Houses, Gaming and Betting
- Part VIII — Offences Against the Person and Reputation
- Part VIII.1 — Offences Relating to Conveyances
- Part IX — Offences Against Rights of Property
- Part X — Fraudulent Transactions Relating to Contracts and Trade
- Part XI — Wilful and Forbidden Acts in Respect of Certain Property
- Part XII — Offences Relating to Currency
- Part XII.1 —
Instruments and Literature for Illicit Drug Use(repealed) - Part XII.2 — Proceeds of Crime
- Part XIII — Attempts — Conspiracies — Accessories
- Part XIV — Jurisdiction
- Part XV — Special Procedure and Powers
- Part XVI — Compelling Appearance of an Accused Before a Justice and Interim Release
- Part XVII — Language of Accused
- Part XVIII — Procedure on Preliminary Inquiry
- Part XVIII.1 — Case Management Judge
- Part XIX — Indictable Offences — Trial Without Jury
- Part XIX.1 — Nunavut Court of Justice
- Part XX — Procedure in Jury Trials and General Provisions
- Part XX.1 — Mental Disorder
- Part XXI — Appeals — Indictable Offences
- Part XXI.1 — Applications for Ministerial Review — Miscarriages of Justice
- Part XXII — Procuring Attendance
- Part XXII.01 — Remote Attendance by Certain Persons
- Part XXII.1 — Remediation Agreements
- Part XXIII — Sentencing
- Part XXIV — Dangerous Offenders and Long-term Offenders
- Part XXV — Effect and Enforcement of Undertakings, Release Orders and Recognizances
- Part XXVI — Extraordinary Remedies
- Part XXVII — Summary Convictions
- Part XXVIII — Miscellaneous
History and evolution
The Criminal Code stems from a long history of legal documents. The following documents play a part in the construction and changes brought on the Criminal Code: