CHAPTER ONE
General Provisions

PART II
JUSTIFICATIONS AND EXCUSES

Age of Criminal Responsibility

Presumption of mental disorder
27. A person accused of committing a crime shall be deemed to have been mentally ill at the time he or she committed the act in respect of which he or she is accused, —
(a) if he or she was prevented, by reason of mental disorder, from knowing the nature or consequences of the act in respect of which he or she is accused, or if he or she did know it, he or she did not know that what he or she was doing was contrary to law;
(b) if he or she did the act in respect of which he or she is accused under the influence of a delusion of such a nature as to render him or her, in the opinion of the jury or of the Court, an unfit person for punishment of any kind in respect of such act.

CHAPTER THREE
Procedure

PART VI
INDICTABLE TRIALS

SUB-PART C
Verdicts and Related Matters

Miscellaneous Matters

Issue of mentally abnormal on or before arraignment
1018.— (1) If any accused person appears before or upon arraignment, to be mentally ill, the Court may order a jury to be empanelled to try the sanity of the person, and the jury shall, after hearing evidence in that regard, find whether or not the person is mentally ill and unfit to take his or her trial and the jury shall, if it finds that the accused person is mentally ill, return a verdict that the person is mentally ill.

(2) A verdict under this section shall not affect the trial of any person found to be mentally ill for the offence for which he or she was indicted, if he or she subsequently becomes of sound mind.


Special verdict if jury finds that accused was mentally ill at time of offence
1019. Where, in any indictment, any act is charged against any person as an offence, and at the trial evidence is given that he or she was mentally ill, so as not to be responsible, according to law, for his or her actions at the time when the act was committed, then, if it appears to the jury that he or she committed the act charged, but was mentally ill at the time when he or she did it, the jury shall return a special verdict to the effect that the accused was guilty of the act with which he or she is charged but was mentally ill at the time when he or she committed the act.


Person found mentally ill may be detained at Governor-General’s pleasure
1020.— (1) Where the accused person is found to be mentally ill under section 1018 or has a special verdict found against him or her, under section 1019 the Court shall direct the finding of the jury to be recorded and the Court may order the person to be detained in safe custody, in such place and manner as the Court thinks fit.

(2) The Judge shall immediately report the finding of the jury to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who shall order the person to be dealt with as a person of unsound mind under the laws of this State for the time being in force for the care and custody of persons of unsound mind, or otherwise as he or she may think fit.