CHAPTER II — GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

PART 6 — CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THERE IS NO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Division 4 — Circumstances involving external factors

Duress

40.—(1) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence if he or she carries out the conduct constituting the offence under duress.

(2) A person carries out conduct under duress if and only if he or she reasonably believes that -

(a) a threat to cause death or serious harm has been made that will be carried out unless an offence is committed ; and
(b) there is no reasonable way that the threat can be rendered ineffective ; and
(c) the conduct is a reasonable response to the threat.

(3) This section does not apply if the threat is made by or on behalf of a person with whom the person under duress is voluntarily associating for the purpose of carrying out conduct of the kind actually carried out.