The special part: homicide, sexual, property, and terrorism offences

AuthorKent Roach
ProfessionFaculty of Law and Centre of Criminology. University of Toronto
Pages382-383

Page 382

This book has so far provided an overview of the general principles of criminal liability and defences. These principles are sometimes called the general part of the criminal law because they provide general principles, excuses, and justifications that apply to all offences. It is important to have a sense of the principles that apply to all criminal offences. Such general principles also inform how the courts interpret the principles of fundamental justice found in section 7 of the Charter.

That said, the criminal law, as well as Charter jurisprudence, has in recent years taken a more contextual approach. The increased emphasis on context makes it helpful to have a sense of how the courts interpret some specific offences. Those parts of the Criminal Code that set out specific offences are often referred to as the special part of the Code.

As discussed in previous chapters, it is important when examining specific offences to distinguish between matters relating to the prohibited act or actus reus and matters relating to the required fault element or mens rea. In addition, there is one defence - provocation - that belongs to the special part because it only applies when a person is charged with murder. Unlike the other defences examined in the previous chapters, a successful provocation defence does not produce an acquittal: it only reduces murder to manslaughter.

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