CHAPTER 174. An Act respecting Procedure in Criminal Cases. HER Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows : A. D. 1886. SHORT TITLE. 1. This Act may by cited as "The Criminal Procedure Act." Short title. INTERPRETATION. tion. 2. In this and in any other Act of Parliament containing Interpretaany provision relating to criminal law, unless the context otherwise requires, (a.) The expression "any Act," or "any other Act," includes any Act passed or to be passed by the Parliament of Canada, or any Act passed by the legislature of the late Province of Canada, or passed or to be passed by the Legislature of any Province of Canada, or passed by the legislature of any Province included in Canada, before it was included therein; "Any Act." 66 Any other Act." (b.) The expression "justice" means a justice of the peace, "Justice,” and includes two or more justices, if two or more justices act or have jurisdiction, and also any person having the power or authority of two or more justices of the peace, and one justice may act, unless otherwise specially provided; "ment. 115 V., c. "Finding of "the indict c.) The expression "indictment includes information, "Indietinquisition and presentment as well as indictment, and also any plea, replication or other pleading, and any record; (d) The expression "finding of the indictment" includes also the taking of an inquisition, the exhibiting an information "ment. and the making of a presentment; (e.) The expression "property money, valuable securities, and every other matter or thing, whether real or personal, upon or with respect to which any offence may be committed: (f.) The expression 66 includes goods, chattels, "Property." County district, county or place" includes District, any division of any Province of Canada, for purposes relative" place. to the administration of justice in criminal cases; (g) The expression "territorial division" means county, union of counties, township, city, town, parish or other judicial division or place to which the context applies; or "Territorial "division." Justices, &c., not to try certain offences by explosives. Court of Ses sions not to try certain (1.) The expression "the court for Crown cases reserved" means and includes, (1.) In the Province of Ontario any division of the High Court of Justice for Ontario ; (2.) In the Province of Quebec, the Court of Queen's Bench, on the appeal side thereof; (3.) In the Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia, the Supreme Court in and for each of the said Provinces, respectively; (4.) In the Province of Prince Edward Island, the Supreme Court of Judicature for that Province; (5.) In the Province of Manitoba, Her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench for Manitoba; and— (6.) In the North-West Territories, the Supreme Court of the North-West Territories. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 1, part, and c. 30, s. 65;-46 V., c. 10, s. 5, part ;-49 V., c. 25, s. 14;C. S. L. C., c. 77, s. 57, part :-R. S. N. S. (3rd S.), c. 171, s. 99, part-1 R. S. N. B., c. 159, s. 22, part. (i.) Sub-section added by 51 V., c. 44, s. 1. JURISDICTION. 3. Every superior court of criminal jurisdiction shall have power to try any treason, felony or other indictable offence. 34 V., c. 14, s. 2 ;—37 V., c. 42, s. 5 ;—40 V., c. 4, s. 4, part. 4. No Court of General or Quarter Sessions or Recorder's Court, nor any court but a superior court having criminal jurisdiction, shall have power to try any treason or any felony punishable with death, or any libel. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 12. 5. Neither the justices of the peace acting in and for any district, county, division, city or place, nor any judge of the Sessions of the Peace, nor the recorder of any city, shall, at any session of the peace, or at any adjournment thereof, try any person for any offence under sections twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-three of the "Act respecting Offences against the Person." 32-33 V., c. 20, s, 48. 6. No Court of General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace shall have power to try any offence under any of the provisions offences under of sections sixty to seventy-six, both inclusive, of "The Larceny Act." 32-33 V., c. 21, s. 92. Larceny Act. [24-25 V., c. 96, s. 87.] Certain magistrates 7. The judge of the Sessions of the Peace for the city of may act alone. Quebec, the judge of the Sessions of the Peace for the city of Montreal, and every police magistrate, district magistrate or stipendiary magistrate appointed for any territorial division, and every magistrate authorized by the law of the Province in which he acts, to perform acts usually required to be done by two or more justices of the peace, may do alone whatever is authorized by this Act to be done by any two or more justices of the peace, and the several forms in this Act contained may be varied so far as necessary to render them applicable to such case. 32-33 V., c. 30, s. 59, and e. 36, s. 8. PLACE OF COMMISSION AND TRIAL OF OFFENCES. mitted within 8. When any offence punishable under the laws of Canada Offences combas been committed within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty the jurisdie of England, the same may be dealt with, inquired of and tried tion of the and determined in the same manner as any offence committed [12-13 V., c. within the jurisdiction of any court before which the offender 96, s. 1.]" is brought for trial. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 136. Admiralty. or cause of Canada. 9. When any person, being feloniously stricken, poisoned, If death only or otherwise hurt, upon the sea, or at any place out of Canada, death only dies of such stroke, poisoning or hurt, in Canada, or, being happens in feloniously stricken, poisoned or otherwise hurt at any place [24-25 V., c. in Canada, dies of such stroke, poisoning, or hurt, upon the 100, s. 10.] sea, or at any place out of Canada, every offence committed in respect of any such case, whether the same amounts to murder or manslaughter, or of being accessory to murder or manslaughter, may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined and punished in the district, county or place in Canada in which such death, stroke, poisoning or hurt happens, in the same manner, in all respects, as if such offence had been wholly committed in that district, county or place. 32-33 V., c. 20, s. 9. confines of 10. When any felony or misdemeanour is committed on the Offences comboundary of two or more districts, counties or places, or within mitted on the the distance of one mile of any such boundary, or in any place districts, &c. with respect to which it is uncertain within which of two or G. IV., c. 64, s. 12.] more districts, counties or places it is situate, or when any felony or misdemeanour is begun in one district, county or place, and completed in another, every such felony or misdemeanour may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined and punished, in any one of the said districts, counties or places, in the same manner as if it had been actually and wholly committed therein. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 8. mitted on (7 G. IV., c. 13.] 11. When any felony or misdemeanour is committed on any offences comperson, or on or in respect of any property, in or upon any persons or coach, wagon, cart or other carriage whatsoever, employed in property in any journey, or is committed on any person, or on or in respect transit. of any property on board any vessel, boat or raft whatsoever, employed in any voyage or journey upon any navigable river, canal or inland navigation, such felony or misdemeanour may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined and punished, in any district, county or place, through any part whereof such coach, wagon, cart, carriage or vessel, boat or raft, passed in Offences committed on highways, rivers, &c., dividing two districts. s. 41. the course of the journey or voyage during which such felony or misdemeanour was committed, in the same manner as if it had been actually committed in such district, county or place. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 9. 12. Whenever the side, centre, bank or other part of any highway or of any river, canal or navigation, constitutes the boundary of any two districts, counties or places, any felony or misdemeanour mentioned in the two sections next preceding 4-5 V., c. 24, may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined and punished in either of such districts, counties or places, through or adjoining to, or by the boundary of any part whereof such coach, wagon, cart, carriage or vessel, boat or raft, passed in the course of the journey or voyage during which such felony or misdemeanour was committed, in the same manner as if it had been actually committed in such district, county or place. 32-33 V., c. 29, s. 10. Place of trial after dissolu tion of union of counties to by the court be as ordered If no order is made. Place of trial of indictable offence in such case. Where 13. If, upon the dissolution of a union of counties, any information, indictment or other criminal proceeding, in which the venue is laid in a county of the union is pending, the court in which such information, indictment or proceeding is pending, or any judge who has authority to make orders therein, may, by consent of parties, or on hearing the parties upon affidavit, order the venue to be changed to the new county, and all records and papers to be transmitted to the proper officers of such county, and in the case of any such indictment found at any court of criminal jurisdiction, any judge of a superior court may make the order: 2. If no such change is directed, all such informations, indictments and other proceedings shall be carried on and tried in the senior county: 3. Any person charged with an indictable offence who, at the time of the disuniting of a junior from a senior county, is imprisoned on the charge in the gaol of the senior county, or is under bail or recognizance to appear for trial at any court in the senior county, and against whom no indictment has been found before the disunion takes place, shall be indicted, tried and sentenced in the senior county, unless a judge of a superior court orders the proceedings to be conducted in the junior county, in which event the prisoner or recognizance, as the case may be, shall be removed to the latter county and the proceedings shall be had therein; and when, in any such case, the offence is charged to have been committed in a county other than that in which such proceedings are had, the venue may be laid in the proper county describing it as "formerly one of the united counties of ." 29-30 V. (Can.), c. 51, ss. 52, 53 and 55. 14. All crimes and offences committed in any of the unororganized ganized tracts of country in the Province of Ontario, including offences in and be tried. lakes, rivers and other waters therein, not embraced within tracts may be charged to the limits of any organized county, or within any provi- have been sional judicial district, may be laid and charged to have been committed. committed and may be inquired of, tried and punished within any county of such Province; and such crime or offence shall be within the jurisdiction of any court having jurisdiction over crimes or offences of the like nature committed within the limits of such county,-before which court such crime or offence may be prosecuted; and such court shall proceed therein to trial, judgment and execution or other punishment for such crime and offence, in the same manner as if such crime or offence had been committed within the county where such trial is had : tried when judicial dis counties are 2. When any provisional judicial district or new county is Where to be formed and established in any of such unorganized tracts, all crimes and offences committed within the limits of such provi- tricts or new sional judicial district or new county, shall be inquired of, tried formed. and punished within the same, in like manner as such crimes or offences would have been inquired of, tried and punished if this section had not been passed: ensed or con such pro committed to any gaol 3. Any person accused or convicted of any offence in any Persons acsuch provisional district may be committed to any common victed of gaol in the Province of Ontario; and the constable or other crimes in any officer having charge of such person and intrusted with his visional disconveyance to any such common gaol, may pass through any tricts may be county in such Province with such person in his custody; and any in the keeper of the common gaol of any county in such Province, Ontario. in which it is found necessary to lodge for safe keeping any such person so being conveyed through such county in custody, shall receive such person and safely keep and detain him in such common gaol for such period as is reasonable or necessary; and the keeper of any common gaol in such Province, to which any such person is committed as aforesaid, shall receive such person and safely keep and detain him in such common gaol under his custody until discharged in due course of law, or bailed in cases in which bail may, by law, be taken. C. S. U. C., c. 128, ss. 100, 101 and 105. 15. Whenever any offence is committed in the district of Commitment Gaspé, the offender, if committed to gaol before trial, may be and trial in committed to the common gaol of the county in which the Gaspé. offence was committed, or may, in law, be deemed to have been committed, and if tried before the Court of Queen's Bench, he shall be so tried at the sitting of such court held in the county to the gaol of which he has been committed, and if imprisoned in the common gaol after trial he shall be so imprisoned in the common gaol of the county in which he has been tried. C. S. L. C., c. 80, s. 6. 16. Every person accused of perjury, bigamy or any offence Venue in the under the provisions of sections fifty-three, fifty-four and fifty-offences. certain |