Papua New Guinea

Criminal Code Act 1974

SCHEDULE 1 – THE CRIMINAL CODE.

PART I. – INTRODUCTORY.

Division 2. – Parties to Offences.

7. PRINCIPAL OFFENDERS.

(1) When an offence is committed, each of the following persons shall be deemed to have taken part in committing the offence and to be guilty of the offence, and may be charged with actually committing
it : –

(a) every person who actually does the act or makes the omission that constitutes the offence ;
(b) every person who does or omits to do any act for the purpose of enabling or aiding another person to commit the offence ;
(c) every person who aids another person in committing the offence ;
(d) any person who counsels or procures any other person to commit the offence.

(2) In Subsection (1)(d), the person may be charged with–

(a) committing the offence ; or
(b) counselling or procuring its commission.

(3) A conviction of counselling or procuring the commission of an offence entails the same consequences in all respects as a conviction of committing the offence.

(4) Any person who procures another to do or omit to do any act of such a nature that, if he had himself done the act or made the omission, it would have constituted an offence on his part, is–

(a) guilty of an offence of the same kind ; and
(b) liable to the same punishment,
as if he had done the act or made the omission, and may be charged with himself doing the act or making the omission.

8. OFFENCES COMMITTED IN PROSECUTION OF COMMON PURPOSE.

Where–

(a) two or more persons form a common intention to prosecute an unlawful purpose in conjunction with one another ; and
(b) in the prosecution of such purpose an offence is committed of such a nature that its commission was a probable consequence of the prosecution of the purpose, each of them shall be deemed to have committed the offence.

9. MODE OF EXECUTION IMMATERIAL.

(1) Where–

(a) a person counsels another to commit an offence ; and
(b) an offence is actually committed under that counsel by the person to whom it is given, it is immaterial whether –
(c) the offence actually committed is the same as that counselled or a different one ; or
(d) the offence is committed in the way counselled, or in a different way,
if the facts constituting the offence actually committed are a probable consequence of carrying out the counsel.

(2) The person who gave the counsel shall be deemed to have counselled the other person to commit the offence actually committed by him.

10. ACCESSORIES AFTER THE FACT.

(1) A person who receives or assists another who is, to his knowledge, guilty of an offence, in order to enable him to escape punishment, is an accessory after the fact to the offence.

(2) A married woman does not become an accessory after the fact to an offence of which her husband is guilty–

(a) by receiving or assisting him in order to enable him to escape punishment ; or
(b) by receiving or assisting, in her husband’s presence and by his authority, another person who is guilty of an offence in the commission of which her husband has taken part, in order to enable that other person to escape punishment.

(3) A married man does not become an accessory after the fact to an offence of which his wife is guilty by receiving or assisting her in order to enable her to escape punishment.

Keywords

Individual criminal responsibility
Joint commission



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