'Mental element' in document 'Bahamas - Penal Code'

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RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

BOOK I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

TITLE ii
GENERAL AND SPECIAL RULES OF CRIMINAL LAW

12. Provisions relating to intent and as to what constitutes an overt act.

(1) If a person does an act for the purpose of thereby causing or contributing to cause an event,
he intends to cause that event, within the meaning of this Code, although either in fact or in his belief, or both in fact and also in his belief, the act is unlikely to cause or to contribute to cause the event.

(2) If a person does an act voluntarily, believing that it will probably cause or contribute to cause an event, he intends to cause that event, within the meaning of this Code, although he does not do the act for the purpose of causing or of contributing to cause the event.

(3) If a person does an act of such a kind or in such a manner as that, if he used reasonable caution and observation, it would appear to him that the act would probably cause or contribute to cause an event, or that there would be great risk of the act causing or contributing to cause an event, he shall be presumed to have intended to cause that event, until it is shown that he believed that the act would probably not cause or contribute to cause the event.

(4) If a person, intending to cause an event with respect to one or some of several persons or things, or to such indeterminate person or thing as may happen to be affected by his act, causes such event with respect to any such person or thing, he shall be liable in the same manner as if he had intended to cause the event with respect to that person or thing.

(5) If a person does an act with intent to assault, harm, kill or cause any other event to a particular person, and his act happens to take effect, whether completely or incompletely, against a different person, he shall be liable to be tried and punished as if his intent had been directed against that different person; but any ground of defence or extenuation shall be admissible on behalf of the accused person, which would have been admissible if his act had taken effect against the person or in respect of which he intended it to take effect.

BOOK I
GENERAL

TITLE ii
GENERAL AND SPECIAL RULES OF CRIMINAL LAW

14. Provisions relating to causing an event.

(2) If an event is caused by the acts of several persons acting either jointly or independently, each of those persons who has intentionally or negligently contributed to cause the event shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, and to the provisions of Title v. of this Code with respect to abetment, be deemed to have caused the event; but any matter of exemption, justification, extenuation or aggravation which exists in the case of any one of those persons shall have effect in his case, whether it exists or not in the case of any of the other persons .

BOOK I
GENERAL

TITLE ii
GENERAL AND SPECIAL RULES OF CRIMINAL LAW

14. Provisions relating to causing an event.

(3) A person shall not be convicted of having intentionally or negligently caused an event if, notwith-standing his act and the acts of any person acting jointly with him, the event would not have happened but for the existence of some state of facts or the intervention of some other event or of some other person, the probability of the existence or intervention of which other event or person the accused person did not take into consideration, and had no reason to take into consideration. This provision shall not apply where a person is charged with having caused an event by an omission to perform a duty for averting the event.

RELEVANT ROME STATUTE PROVISIONS

Article 30
Mental element
1. Unless otherwise provided, a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court only if the material elements are committed with intent and knowledge.
2. For the purposes of this article, a person has intent where:
(a) In relation to conduct, that person means to engage in the conduct;
(b) In relation to a consequence, that person means to cause that consequence or is aware that it will occur in the ordinary course of events.
3. For the purposes of this article, "knowledge" means awareness that a circumstance exists or a consequence will occur in the ordinary course of events. "Know" and "knowingly" shall be construed accordingly.