Page images
PDF
EPUB

TITLE IX.

ACTIONS AGAINST PERSONS ADMINISTERING THE
CRIMINAL LAW.

975. Every action and prosecution against any person for anything purporting to be done in pursuance of any Act of the Parliament of Canada relating to criminal law, shall, unless otherwise provided, be laid and tried in the district, county or other judicial division, where the act was committed and not elsewhere, and shall not be commenced except within six months next after the act committed. R. S. C. c. 185, s. 1.

976. Notice in writing of such action and of the cause thereof, shall be given to the defendant one month at least before the commencement of the action. R. S. C. c. 185, s. 2.

977. In any such action the defendant may plead the general issue, and give the provisions of this title and the special matter in evidence at any trial had thereupon. R. S. C. c. 185, s. 3.

978. No plaintiff shall recover in any such action if tender of sufficient amends is made before such action brought, or if a sufficient sum of money is paid into court by or on behalf of the defendant after such action brought, R. S. C. c. 185, s. 4.

979. If such action is commenced after the time hereby limited for bringing the same, or is brought or the venue laid in any other place than as aforesaid, a verdict shall be found or judgment shall be given for the defendant; and thereupon or if the plaintiff becomes nonsuit, or discontinues any such action after issue joined, or if upon demurrer or otherwise judgment is given against the plaintiff, the defendant shall, in the discretion of the court, recover his full costs as between solicitor and client, and shall have the like remedy for the same as any defendant has by law in other cases; and although a verdict or judgment is given for the plaintiff in any such action, such plaintiff shall not have costs against the defendant, unless the judge, before whom the trial is had, certifies his approval of the action. R. $. C. c. 185, s. 5.

980. Nothing herein shall prevent the effect of any Act in force in any Province of Canada, for the protection of justices of the peace or other officers from vexatious actions for things purporting to be done in the performance of their duty. R. S. C. c. 185, s. 6.

TITLE X.

REPEAL, ETC.

981. The several Acts set out and described in schedule two to this Act shall, from and after the date appointed for the coming into force of this Act, be repealed to the extent stated in the said schedule.

2. (As amended in 1893.) The provisions of this Act which relate to procedure shall apply to all prosecutions commenced on or after the day upon which this Act comes into force, in relation to any offence, whensoever committed. The proceedings in respect of any prosecution commenced before the said date otherwise than under the Summary Convictions Act, shall, up to the time of committal for trial, be continued as if this Act had not been passed, and after committal for trial shall be subject to all the provisions of this Act relating to procedure, so far as the same are applicable thereto. The proceedings in respect of any prosecutions commenced before the said day, under the Summary Convictions Act, shall be continued and carried on as if this Act had not been passed.

Sub-section 1 of this s. 981 is intended to enact that the repeal of the divers Acts, described in schedule two, shall come into force on the 1st of July, 1893, the date fixed by s. 2, for the coming into force of the code. A simple way to do so, and the usual way in statutory language, would have been to merely enact that the several Acts mentioned in the schedule are repealed. The code and the repeal clause would then have come into force together; but, as the section reads, it is open to the construction that whilst the code comes into force on the 1st of July, the repeal of the divers Acts mentioned takes effect only on the 2nd of July.

FORMS.

982. The several forms in schedule one to this Act, varied to suit the case or forms to the like effect, shall be deemed good, valid and sufficient in law. R. S. C. c. 174, s. 278; c. 178, s. 111.

These forms are inserted under the sections to which they respectively apply.

See also Interpretation Act: R. S. C. c. 1, s. 7, 8-8. 44, as to forms generally.

Some of these forms are nothing but "snares to entrap persons." The form of indictment, for instance, in schedule one, FF d. (see under s. 611, ante), for the offence provided for by s. 146, s-s. 2, cannot be followed. The words "penal servitude" in it are nonsensical. There is no such punishment in Canada. The form in the Imperial draft Code of 1879 has been slavishly copied, without paying attention to the differences in the punishments in England and Canada. The form for the offence provided for by s. 241 is also totally wrong. There is no such offence as doing actual bodily harm to any one with intent to maim.

See R. v. Johnson, 8 Q. B. 102; R. v. Kimber, 3 Cox, 223. Compare Barnes v. White, 1 C. B. 192; in re Allison, 10 Ex. 561; R. v. Sansome, 1 Den. 545; Egginton's case, 5 E. & B. 100; Charter v. Greame, 13 Q. B. 216; R. v. Bain, Ramsay's App. Cas. 191; R. v. Davis, 18 U. C. Q. B. 180; R. v. Shaw, 23 U. C. Q. B. 616; Moffatt v. Barnard, 24 U. C. Q. B. 498; R. v. Turner, 1 Moo. 239, 4 B. & Ald. 510; R. v. Bent, 1 Den. 157; R. v. Cox, 1 Leach 71; R. v. Ryan, 2 Moo. 15; R. v. Lewis, 2 Russ. 1067; R. v. Cummings, 16 U. C. Q. B. 15; R. v. McLaughlin, 3 Allen, (N. B.), 159.

APPLICATION OF THE ACT, ETC.

983. The provisions of this Act extend to and are in force in the NorthWest Territories and the district of Keewatin except in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of the North-West Territories Act or The Keewatin Act and the amendments thereto.

2. Nothing in this Act shall affect any of the laws relating to the government of Her Majesty's land or naval forces.

3. Nothing herein contained shall affect the Acts and parts of Acts in the appendix to this Act. And in construing such parts reference may be had to the repealed portions of the Acts of which respectively they form parts, as well as to any sections of this Act which have been substituted therefor, or which deal with like matters.

This s-s. 3 and the appendix, taken together, are not always in accord with s. 981 and sched. 2. The latter one, for instance, repeals the whole of c. 157 of the Revised Statutes. The former enacts that one sub-section of it is

in force. (This has since been remedied by the Amendment Act of 1893). Two sections of c. 158, and two of c. 163 are left unrepealed by sched. 2, but are not to be found in the appendix, though it is headed "Acts and parts of Acts which are not affected by this Act." Seven sections of c. 167 are left unrepealed by sched. 2, but six only could find place in the appendix. One sub-section of c. 173 is left unrepealed by sched. 2, but there is no trace of it in the appendix. To compensate for it it would seem only three sections of 51 V. c. 41, are left unrepealed by sched. 2, whilst five sections of it are in the appendix. One section out of thirteen of 53 V. c. 37, left unrepealed by sched. 2 is not in the appendix. It clearly was erroneously left unre pealed, but this one error added to the other ones shows with what carelessness the whole work has been done.

Then the Act respecting the postal service is given as c. 36 of the Revised Statutes, instead of c. 35; s. 86, and others of that Act have been left unrepealed whilst other penal sections have been repealed. S. 6 of 53 V. c. 37 is left unrepealed, though re-enacted by s. 177 of the code. Ss. 5, 6, 13, 14, & 15 of c. 151 R. S. C. are left unrepealed though re-enacted in ss. 117 & 118. S. 101 of c. 50 R. S. C., is also left unrepealed, though re-enacted in s. 116. S. 102, c. 8, R. S. C., is left unrepealed, though re-enacted in ss. 329 and 503. S. 1 of c. 152, R. S. C., is left unrepealed though re-enacted by and clashing with s. 113. S. 3 of c. 141, R. S. C. was left as unrepealed, but it had been repealed in 1890 by 53 V. c. 37, s. 41. The Canada Evidence Act of 1893 has since repealed the whole of that c. 141.

SCHEDULE ONE.

FORMS.

See under the various sections to which the forms respectively apply.

SCHEDULE TWO.

ACTS REPEALED.

ACTS REPEALED.

TITLE.

C. S. L. C. c. 10 An Act respecting seditious and unlawful Associa

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors][merged small][ocr errors][subsumed][merged small][ocr errors]

81 An Act respecting Wrecks, Casualties and Salvage.
141 An Act respecting Extra-judicial oaths.

146 An Act respecting Treason and other offences against
the Queen's authority.

147 An Act respecting Riots, unlawful assemblies and

breaches of the peace.

EXTENT OF
REPEAL.

Secs 1, 2, 3 & 4.
Sec. 213.

Secs. 98 & 99.

Secs. 79 to 81, 83, 84,

88, 90, 91, 96, 103, 107, 110 & 111,

Sec. 62.

Sec. 109.

Secs. 106 (ss. 2) & 111.

Sec 37.

Secs. 35 to 37.
Secs 1 & 2.

The whole Act.

The whole Act, ex

cept secs. 6 & 7.

The whole Act.

148 An Act respecting the improper use of firearms and The whole Act, ex

other weapons.

149 An Act respecting the seizure of arms kept for dan

gerous purposes.

150 An Act respecting Explosive Substances,

cept sec. 7. The whole Act, ex

cept secs. 5 & 7. The whole Act.

152 An Act respecting the preservation of peace at The whole Act, ex

Public Meetings.

[ocr errors]

153 An Act respecting Prize-fighting.

154 An Act respecting Perjury.

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small]

cept secs. 1, 2 & 3. The whole Act, ex

cept secs 6, 7 & 10. The whole Act, except sec. 4. The whole Act. The whole Act.

157 An Act respecting offences against Public Morals The whole Act, exand Public Convenience.

158 An Act respecting Gaming houses.

159 An Act respecting Lotteries, Betting and Pool-
selling.

46

160 An Act respecting Gambling in public conveyances

46

161 An Act respecting offences relating to the Law of

Marriage.

cept sec. 8, subsec. 4 (as amended

in 1893,

The whole Act, ex

| cept secs. 9 & 10.

The whole Act,
The whole Act.

The whole Act.

« PreviousContinue »