Glossary

• Author: Steve Coughlan
• Pages: 607-619

607

GLOSSARY

absolute jurisdiction offence. An offence listed in section 553 of the

Criminal Code. An accused has no election for these offences, which

can be tried only by a provincial court judge.

administration of justice offence. An offence committed against the

integrity of the criminal justice system, such as failing to comply with

bail conditions, failing to appear in court, or breach of probation.

ancillary powers doctrine. The process through which new police pow-

ers can be created at common law. The test for the creation of ancillary

powers is drawn from the British case R v Waterfield, which is applied in

Canada today in a way quite distinct from the approach in its country of

origin.

appearance notice. A written demand given to a person in lieu of

arresting, or continuing to detain after having arrested, that person,

requiring the person to appear in court to answer to charges at a par-

ticular place and time. The contents of an appearance notice are set out

in section 500 of the Code.

arrest. An arrest consists of words of arrest accompanied either by the

touching of the person with a view to detention or by the person sub-

mitting to the arrest. The word “arrest” need not be used, provided the

accused can be reasonably supposed to have understood that they are

under arrest. Arrest powers are given in the Criminal Code to everyone,

including private citizens, and additional arrest powers are given to

property owners and peace officers.