PART XIII
GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO PROCEEDINGS IN COURTS

Division 4 — Previous acquittals or convictions

Person once convicted or acquitted not to be tried again for offence on same facts
244. —(1) A person who has been tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and has been convicted or acquitted of that offence shall not be liable, while the conviction or acquittal remains in force, to be tried again for the same offence nor on the same facts for any other offence for which a different charge might have been made under section 138 or for which he might have been convicted under section 139 or 140.

(2) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence may afterwards be tried for any distinct offence for which a separate charge might have been made against him in the former trial under section 134.

(3) A person convicted of any offence constituted by any act causing consequences that together with that act amount to a different offence from that of which he was convicted may afterwards be tried for that different offence if the consequences had not happened or were not known to the court to have happened at the time when he was convicted.

(4) A person acquitted or convicted of any offence constituted by certain acts may, notwithstanding the acquittal or conviction, be charged later with and tried for any other offence constituted by the same acts which he may have committed if the court that first tried him was not competent to try the offence with which he is subsequently charged.

Explanation— — The dismissal of a complaint or the discharge of the accused is not an acquittal for the purposes of this section.

Illustrations

(a) A is tried on a charge of theft as a servant and acquitted. While the acquittal remains in force, he cannot afterwards be charged on the same facts with theft as a servant or with theft simply or with criminal breach of trust.

(b) A is tried on a charge of murder and acquitted. There is no charge of robbery; but it appears from the facts that A committed robbery at the time when the murder was committed. He may afterwards be charged with and tried for robbery.

(c) A is tried for causing grievous hurt and convicted. Afterwards, the person injured dies of his injuries. A may be tried again for culpable homicide.

(d) A is tried and convicted of the culpable homicide of B. A may not afterwards be tried on the same facts for the murder of B.

(e) A is charged with and convicted of voluntarily causing hurt to B. A may not afterwards be tried for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to B on the same facts unless the case comes within subsection (3).

Article 20
Ne bis in idem
1. Except as provided in this Statute, no person shall be tried before the Court with respect to conduct which formed the basis of crimes for which the person has been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
2. No person shall be tried by another court for a crime referred to in article 5 for which that person has already been convicted or acquitted by the Court.
3. No person who has been tried by another court for conduct also proscribed under article 6, 7 or 8 shall be tried by the Court with respect to the same conduct unless the proceedings in the other court:
(a) Were for the purpose of shielding the person concerned from criminal responsibility for crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court; or
(b) Otherwise were not conducted independently or impartially in accordance with the norms of due process recognized by international law and were conducted in a manner which, in the circumstances, was inconsistent with an intent to bring the person concerned to justice.