Treachery Act 1940 (Canada)

For works with similar titles, see Treachery Act 1940.

---

4 George VI, c. 43 (Canada)

An Act respecting Treachery

[Assented to 7th August, 1940.]

 HIS Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:—

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as The Treachery Act.

Definitions.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

“enemy”.

 (a) ‘enemy’ means the enemy in any war in which His Majesty may be engaged;

“enemy alien”.

 (b) ‘enemy alien’ means a person who not being a British subject possesses the nationality of a state at war with His Majesty.

Death penalty for treachery.

3. Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act, regulation or law, if, with intent to help the enemy, any person does, or attempts or conspires with any other person to do, any act which is designed or likely to give assistance to the naval, military or air operations of the enemy, to impede such operations of His Majesty’s forces, or to endanger life, he shall be guilty of an indictable offence and shall on conviction suffer death.

Acts done with intent to assist the enemy.

4. If with intent to assist the enemy any person does any act which is likely to assist the enemy or to prejudice the public safety, the defence of Canada, or the efficient prosecution of the war, then, without prejudice to the law relating to treason or the provisions of section three of this Act, he shall be guilty of an indictable offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for life.

Prosecution, trial and punishment of offences.

5.(1) Subject as hereinafter provided, persons charged with offences against section three of this Act shall be prosecuted upon indictment, and if convicted shall be dealt with in like manner as persons convicted on indictment of murder: Provided that

(a) the provisions, insofar as they are part of the law of Canada, of the Naval Discipline Act, the Army Act, and the Air Force Act of the United Kingdom relating to offences punishable by ordinary law shall, in relation to persons subject to those Acts, apply to offences against this Act, and the provisions of those Acts specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act shall, as part of the law of Canada, be deemed to be amended as specified in the second column of that Schedule and shall have effect accordingly;

(b) any enemy alien may, if the Attorney General of Canada so directs, be prosecuted for an offence against section three of this Act before a court martial, and upon such a direction being given with respect to an enemy alien the Army Act shall apply for the purpose of his custody, trial, sentence, and punishment as if he were and had been at the time when the offence is alleged to have been committed, a person subject to military law;

(c) if upon representations made to him, it appears to the Attorney General of Canada that any person sentenced to death after being convicted on indictment of an offence against section three of this Act was, at the time of the commission of the offence, a member of the armed forces of the Crown or of the armed forces of any foreign power, including an enemy power, the Attorney General of Canada may direct that, instead of being dealt with in like manner as a person sentenced to death after being convicted on indictment of murder, he shall be dealt with under the Naval Discipline Act, the Army Act, or the Air Force Act, as aforesaid, or in the case of a person not subject to those Acts under whichever of those Acts the Attorney General of Canada considers to be appropriate, in like manner as a person upon whom sentence of death by shooting has been passed by a court martial.

Prosecution in respect of offence against section three.
Offence against section four.
Proviso.

 (2) No prosecution in respect of any offence against section three of this Act shall be instituted, otherwise than by way of proceedings for a trial by court martial, except by, or with the consent of, the Attorney-General of Canada, and no prosecution in respect of any offence against section four of this Act shall be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Attorney General of Canada or of the province: Provided that this subsection shall not prevent the arrest, or the issue or the execution of a warrant for the arrest, of any person in respect of any offence, or the remanding, in custody or on bail, of any person charged with such an offence, notwithstanding that the consent of the Attorney General of Canada in respect of any offence against section three of this Act, or of the Attorney General of Canada or of the province in respect of any offence against section four of this Act, to the institution of a prosecution for the offence has not been obtained.

Transfer to military custody in case of trial by court martial.

 (3) Where in accordance with the provisions of proviso (b) to subsection one of this section a direction is given by the Attorney General of Canada for the trial by court martial of any person charged with an offence against section three of this Act, that person, if not in military custody, may be transferred to military custody in accordance with such directions as may be given by the Attorney General of Canada, and the Attorney General of Canada may by order provide for discharging or varying any order which may have been made by a justice of the peace as to the remand or committal for trial of that person.

Procedure altered in part.

6. Notwithstanding anything contained in any statute, rule or regulation

( a ) where any person is charged with an offence against this Act the preliminary inquiry, if any, shall be held and completed with all due diligence and if such person is committed for trial an indictment shall be preferred within fifteen days from the date of such committal unless a Superior Court judge by order made either before or after the expiration of such fifteen days extends such time;

( b ) where such person is convicted of such offence and desires to appeal from such conviction or sentence he shall give notice of appeal or notice of application for leave to appeal within ten days after the date of his conviction, and such appeal or application shall be heard and determined with as much expedition as practicable, and if necessary by a special sitting of the Court of Appeal;

( c ) where such person is convicted of an offence against section three of this Act, the notes of evidence taken at the trial shall be transcribed forthwith and a copy immediately furnished to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the province.

Joinder of charges and place of trial of offences.

7.(1) Notwithstanding any rule of law or practice, charges for any offences, except murder, may be joined with a charge for any offence against this Act in the same indictment or charge, if those charges are founded on the same facts, or form, or are a part of, a series of offences of the same or a similar character.

Jurisdiction of court.

 (2) Where any person is charged with an offence against section three of this Act before a court martial and charges for other offences are joined in the same charge in accordance with the provisions of the last foregoing subsection, the court shall have jurisdiction to try and to punish the person charged with those offences notwithstanding that they may be offences for which that person would not otherwise be triable by court martial, and the Naval Discipline Act, the Army Act, and the Air Force Act, as aforesaid, shall apply in relation thereto accordingly.

Trial may take place anywhere in Canada.

 (3) A person charged with an offence against this Act who is in Canada may, whether or not the offence was committed in Canada, or in any British ship or aircraft registered in Canada, be taken in custody to any county or place in Canada, and, subject to the order of any Superior Court judge who is hereby authorised to make such order, may be proceeded against, indicted, tried and punished in any county or place in Canada, as if the offence had been committed in that county or place, and for all purposes incidental to or consequential on the trial or punishment of the offence it shall be deemed to have been committed in that county or place: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed as preventing the trial of any person by court martial in any place in which he could apart from this subsection be so tried.

Bail prohibited.

8. No person who has been convicted of an offence against this Act and who has given notice of appeal or made application for leave to appeal from such conviction shall, notwithstanding any statutory provision or other law to the contrary, be admitted to bail pending the determination of such appeal.

Power to enter and search premises.

9.(1) If a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence against this Act has been, is being, or is about to be committed, and that evidence thereof is to be found at any premises specified in the information, he may grant a search warrant authorising any peace officer, together with any other persons named in the warrant to enter, by day or night, the premises at any time or times within one month from the date of the warrant, if necessary by force, and to search the premises and every person found therein, and to seize any article found in the premises or on any such person which the peace officer has reasonable ground for believing to be evidence of an offence as aforesaid.

Woman to be searched by a woman.

 (2) No woman shall, in pursuance of a warrant issued under this section, be searched except by a woman.

Officers of the R.C.M.P. deemed justices of the peace.

 (3) For the purposes of this section every commissioned officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shall be a justice of the peace.

Arrest without warrant.

10. A peace officer may arrest without warrant any person whom he has reasonable grounds for suspecting of having committed or being about to commit any offence against this Act.

Duration.
R.S. c.206.

11. This Act shall expire on the issue of the second of the two proclamations specified in section two of the War Measures Act.

 

SCHEDULE.

 

Amendments to the Naval Discipline Act, Army Act and Air Force Act.

---

---

The Naval Discipline Act.

Section forty-five of the Naval Discipline Act.

After the word “death” there shall be inserted the following paragraph:— “If he shall be guilty of an offence under section three of The Treachery Act, he shall suffer death:”

The Army Act and the Air Force Act.

Section forty-one of the Army Act and of the Air Force Act.	After paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph :— “(2A) If he is convicted of an offence under section three of The Treachery Act, be liable to suffer death; and”
Section fifty-seven of the Army Act and of the Air Force Act.	In subsection (1) and in subsection (2) after the word “murder” there shall be inserted the words “or for an offence under section three of The Treachery Act.”