'Ne bis in idem - State's own court' in document 'Tuvalu - Criminal Procedure Code'

Jump to:

RELEVANT SECTIONS OF THE IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION

PART IV - PROVISIONS RELATING TO ALL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCEEDINGS

121 Persons convicted or acquitted not to be tried again for the same offence


A person who has been once tried by a court of competent jurisdiction for an offence and convicted or acquitted of such offence shall, while such conviction or acquittal has not been reversed or set aside, not be liable to be tried again on the same facts for the same offence.

PART VI - PROCEDURE IN TRIALS BEFORE MAGISTRATES’ COURTS

203 Order of acquittal bar to further proceedings

The production of a copy of the order of acquittal, certified by the clerk or other officer of the court, shall, without other proof, be a bar to any subsequent information or complaint for the same matter against the same accused person.

PART VIII - PROCEDURE IN TRIALS BEFORE THE HIGH COURT ON INFORMATION

245 Plea of autrefois acquit and autrefois convict

(1) Any accused person against whom an information is filed may plead —
(a) that he has been previously convicted or acquitted, as the case may be, of the same offence; or
(b) that he has obtained the Queen’s pardon for his offence.

(2) If either of such pleas are pleaded in any case and denied to be true in fact, the court shall try whether such plea is true in fact or not.

(3) If the court holds that the facts alleged by the accused do not prove the plea, or if it finds that it is false in fact, the accused shall be required to plead to the information.

RELEVANT ROME STATUTE PROVISIONS

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.