Criminal Law Code as at 1st March 2007
believe was charged with the administration of the law concerned and was familiar with its
contents.
(2) In any circumstances other than those affording a complete defence under subsection
(1), genuine mistake or ignorance as to the relevant provisions of a law on the part of a person
charged with a crime shall merely be a factor to be taken into account in the assessment of
sentence.
237
Claims of right and mistakes of mixed law and fact
If in any criminal case a person charged with any crime against property raises a defence of
claim of right, namely that the person believed he or she had a right to do or omit to do any
thing, the court shall determine whether or not the belief arose from mistake or ignorance of fact
or law and, if the court decides that the belief arose⎯
(a) solely from mistake or ignorance of law, the court shall regard the defence as one of
mistake or ignorance of law in terms of this Part; or
(b) solely from mistake or ignorance of fact, the court shall regard the defence as one of
mistake or ignorance of fact in terms of Part VII; or
(c) partly from mistake or ignorance of law and partly from mistake or ignorance of fact,
the court shall regard the defence as one of mistake or ignorance of law in terms of this
Part.
PART IX
PROVOCATION
238
Provocation in relation to crimes other than murder
Except as provided in section two hundred and thirty-nine and subject to any other
enactment, provocation shall not be a defence to a crime but the court may regard it as
mitigatory when assessing the sentence to be imposed for the crime.
239
When provocation a partial defence to murder
(1) If, after being provoked, a person does or omits to do anything resulting in the death of
a person 20which would be an essential element of the crime of murder if done or omitted, as the
case may be, with the intention or realisation referred to in section forty-seven, the person shall
be guilty of culpable homicide if, as a result of the provocation⎯
(a) he or she does not have the intention or realisation referred to in section forty-seven;
or
(b) he or she has the intention or realisation referred to in section forty-seven but has
completely lost his or her self-control, the provocation being sufficient to make a
reasonable person in his or her position and circumstances lose his or her self-control.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt it is declared that if a court finds that a person accused of
murder was provoked but that⎯
(a) he or she did have the intention or realisation referred to in section forty-seven; or
(b) the provocation was not sufficient to make a reasonable person in the accused’s
position and circumstances lose his or her self-control;
20
As amended by s. 31 of Act 9/2006 [insertion of words " resulting in the death of a person"].
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