PART IV
GENERAL RULES AS TO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
Ignorance of law
7. Ignorance of the law does not afford any excuse for any act or omission which would otherwise constitute an offence unless knowledge of the law by the offender is expressly declared to be an element of the offence.
Bona fide claim of right
8. A person is not criminally responsible in respect of an offence relating to property, if the act done or omitted to be done by him with respect to the property was done in the exercise of an honest claim of right and without intention to defraud.
Intention
9. (1) Subject to the express provisions of this Code relating to negligent acts and omissions, a person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission which occurs independently of the exercise of his will, or for an event which occurs by accident.
(2) Unless the intention to cause a particular result is expressly declared to be an element of the offence constituted, in whole or part, by an act or omission, the result intended to be caused by an act or omission is immaterial.
(3) Unless otherwise expressly declared, the motive by which a person is induced to do or omit to do an act or to form an intention is immaterial so far as regards criminal responsibility.
Mistake of fact
10. (1) A person who does or omits to do an act under an honest and reasonable, but mistaken, belief in the existence of any act state of things is not criminally responsible for the act or omission to any greater extent than if the real state of things had been such as he believed to exist.
(2) The operation of this rule maybe excluded by the express or implied provisions of the law relating to the subject.
Presumption of Sanity
11. Every person is presumed to be of sound mind, and to have been of sound mind at any time which comes in question, until the contrary is proved.
Insanity
12. Subject to the express provisions of this Code and of any other law in force a person shall not be criminally responsible for an act or omission if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is through any disease affecting his mind incapable of understanding what he is doing, or of knowing a that he ought not to do the act or make the omission:
Provided that a person may be criminally responsible for an act or omission, although his mind is affected by disease, if such disease does not in: fact produce upon his mind one or other of the effects above mentioned in reference to that act or omission.
Intoxication
13. (1) Save as provided in this section intoxication shall not constitute a defence to any criminal charge.
(2) Intoxication shall be a defence to any criminal charge if by reason thereof the person charged at the time of the act or omission complained of did not know that such act or omission was wrong or did not know what he was doing and-
(a) the state of intoxication was caused without his consent by the malicious or negligent act of another person; or
(b) the person charged was by reason of intoxication insane, temporarily or otherwise, at the time of such act or omission.
(3) Where the defence under the preceding subsection is established, then in a case falling under paragraph (a) thereof the accused shall be discharged and in a case falling under paragraph (b) the provisions of this Code and of the Criminal Procedure Code relating to insanity shall apply.
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(4) Intoxication shall be taken into account for the purpose of determining whether the person charged had formed any intention, specific or otherwise, in the absence of which he would not be guilty of the offence.
(5) For the purpose of this section "intoxication" shall be deemed to include a state produced by narcotics or drugs.
Immature age
14. (1) A person under the age of 10 years is not criminally responsible for any act or omission.
(2) A person under the age of 14 years is not criminally responsible for an act or omission, unless it is proved that at the time of doing the act or making the omission be had capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission.
(3) A male person under the age of 12 years is presumed to be incapable of having sexual intercourse.
Judicial officers
15. Except as expressly provided by this Code, a judicial officer is not criminally responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by him in the exercise of his judicial functions, although the act done is in excess of his judicial authority or although he is bound to do the act omitted to be done.
Compulsion
16. A person is not criminally responsible for an offence if it is committed by 2 or more offenders, and if the act is done or omitted only because during the whole of the time in which it is being done or omitted the person is compelled to do or omit to do the act by threats on the part of the other offender or offenders instantly to kill him or do him grievous bodily harm if he refuses, but threats of future injury do not excuse any offence.
Defence of person or property
17. Subject to any express provisions in this Code or any other law in operation in the Gilbert Islands, criminal responsibility for the use of force in the defence of person or property shall be determined according to the principles of English common law.
Individual criminal responsibility
EDIT.