CONSOLIDATED STATUTES OF CANADA
C
Criminal Code
PART XVI COMPELLING APPEARANCE OF ACCUSED BEFORE A JUSTICE AND INTERIM RELEASE
Interpretation
"officer in charge" «fonctionnaire responsable»
"officer in charge" means the officer for the time being in command of the police force responsible for the lock-up or other place to which an accused is taken after arrest or a peace officer designated by him for the purposes of this Part who is in charge of that place at the time an accused is taken to that place to be detained in custody;
"promise to appear" « promesse de comparaître »
"promise to appear" means a promise in Form 10;
"recognizance", when used in relation to a recognizance entered into before an officer in charge, or other peace officer, means a recognizance in Form 11, and when used in relation to a recognizance entered into before a justice or judge, means a recognizance in Form 32;
"summons" means a summons in Form 6 issued by a justice or judge;
"undertaking" means an undertaking in Form 11.1 or 12;
"warrant", when used in relation to a warrant for the arrest of a person, means a warrant in Form 7 and, when used in relation to a warrant for the committal of a person, means a warrant in Form 8.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 493; R.S., 1985, c. 11 (1st Supp.), s. 2, c. 27 (2nd Supp.), s. 10, c. 40 (4th Supp.), s. 2; 1990, c. 16, s. 5, c. 17, s. 12; 1992, c. 51, s. 37; 1994, c. 44, s. 39.
Arrest without Warrant and Release from Custody
Arrest without warrant by any person
494. (1) Any one may arrest without warrant
(a) a person whom he finds committing an indictable offence; or
(b) a person who, on reasonable grounds, he believes
(i) has committed a criminal offence, and
(ii) is escaping from and freshly pursued by persons who have lawful authority to arrest that person.
Arrest by owner, etc., of property
(2) Any one who is
(a) the owner or a person in lawful possession of property, or
(b) a person authorized by the owner or by a person in lawful possession of property,
may arrest without warrant a person whom he finds committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property.
(3) Any one other than a peace officer who arrests a person without warrant shall forthwith deliver the person to a peace officer.
R.S., c. C-34, s. 449; R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Arrest without warrant by peace officer
495. (1) A peace officer may arrest without warrant
(a) a person who has committed an indictable offence or who, on reasonable grounds, he believes has committed or is about to commit an indictable offence;
(b) a person whom he finds committing a criminal offence; or
(c) a person in respect of whom he has reasonable grounds to believe that a warrant of arrest or committal, in any form set out in Part XXVIII in relation thereto, is in force within the territorial jurisdiction in which the person is found.
(2) A peace officer shall not arrest a person without warrant for
(a) an indictable offence mentioned in section 553,
(b) an offence for which the person may be prosecuted by indictment or for which he is punishable on summary conviction, or
(c) an offence punishable on summary conviction,
in any case where
(d) he believes on reasonable grounds that the public interest, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to
(i) establish the identity of the person,
(ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence, or
(iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence,
may be satisfied without so arresting the person, and
(e) he has no reasonable grounds to believe that, if he does not so arrest the person, the person will fail to attend court in order to be dealt with according to law.
Consequences of arrest without warrant
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a peace officer acting under subsection (1) is deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of his duty for the purposes of
(a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; and
(b) any other proceedings, unless in any such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the peace officer did not comply with the requirements of subsection (2).
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 495; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 75.
Issue of appearance notice by peace officer
496. Where, by virtue of subsection 495(2), a peace officer does not arrest a person, he may issue an appearance notice to the person if the offence is
(a) an indictable offence mentioned in section 553;
(b) an offence for which the person may be prosecuted by indictment or for which he is punishable on summary conviction; or
(c) an offence punishable on summary conviction.
R.S., c. C-34, s. 451; R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Release from custody by peace officer
497. (1) Where a peace officer arrests a person without warrant for
(a) an indictable offence mentioned in section 553,
(b) an offence for which the person may be prosecuted by indictment or for which he is punishable on summary conviction, or
(c) an offence punishable on summary conviction,
he shall, as soon as practicable,
(d) release the person from custody with the intention of compelling his appearance by way of summons, or
(e) issue an appearance notice to the person and thereupon release him,
unless
(f) he believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary in the public interest, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to
(i) establish the identity of the person,
(ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence, or
(iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence,
that the person be detained in custody or that the matter of his release from custody be dealt with under another provision of this Part, or
(g) he believes on reasonable grounds that, if the person is released by him from custody, the person will fail to attend court in order to be dealt with according to law.
Where subsection (1) does not apply
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer for an offence described in subsection 503(3).
(3) A peace officer who has arrested a person without warrant for an offence described in subsection (1) and who does not release the person from custody as soon as practicable in the manner described in paragraph (d) or (e) of that subsection shall be deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of his duty for the purposes of
(a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; and
(b) any other proceedings, unless in any such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the peace officer did not comply with the requirements of subsection (1).
R.S., c. C-34, s. 452; R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Release from custody by officer in charge
498. (1) Where a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer is taken into custody, or where a person who has been arrested without warrant and delivered to a peace officer under subsection 494(3) is detained in custody under subsection 503(1) for
(a) an indictable offence mentioned in section 553,
(b) an offence for which the person may be prosecuted by indictment or for which he is punishable on summary conviction,
(c) an offence punishable on summary conviction, or
(d) any other offence that is punishable by imprisonment for five years or less,
and has not been taken before a justice or released from custody under any other provision of this Part, the officer in charge or another peace officer shall, as soon as practicable,
(e) release the person with the intention of compelling his appearance by way of summons,
(f) release the person on his giving his promise to appear,
(g) release the person on the person's entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge or another peace officer without sureties in such amount not exceeding five hundred dollars as the officer directs, but without deposit of money or other valuable security, or
(h) if the person is not ordinarily resident in the province in which the person is in custody or does not ordinarily reside within two hundred kilometres of the place in which the person is in custody, release the person on the person's entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge or another peace officer without sureties in such amount not exceeding five hundred dollars as the officer directs and, if the officer so directs, on depositing with the officer such sum of money or other valuable security not exceeding in amount or value five hundred dollars, as the officer directs,
unless
(i) he believes on reasonable grounds that it is necessary in the public interest, having regard to all the circumstances including the need to
(i) establish the identity of the person,
(ii) secure or preserve evidence of or relating to the offence, or
(iii) prevent the continuation or repetition of the offence or the commission of another offence,
that the person be detained in custody or that the matter of his release from custody be dealt with under another provision of this Part, or
(j) he believes on reasonable grounds that, if the person is released by him from custody, the person will fail to attend court in order to be dealt with according to law.
Where subsection (1) does not apply
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a person who has been arrested without warrant by a peace officer for an offence described in subsection 503(3).
(3) An officer in charge or another peace officer who has the custody of a person taken into or detained in custody for an offence described in subsection (1) and who does not release the person from custody as soon as practicable in the manner described in paragraph (1)(e), (f), (g) or (h) shall be deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of the officer's duty for the purposes of
(a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; or
(b) any other proceedings, unless in any such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the officer in charge or other peace officer did not comply with the requirements of subsection (1).
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 498; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 186; 1997, c. 18, s. 52.
Release from custody by officer in charge where arrest made with warrant
499. (1) Where a person who has been arrested with a warrant by a peace officer is taken into custody for an offence other than one mentioned in section 522, the officer in charge may, if the warrant has been endorsed by a justice under subsection 507(6),
(a) release the person on the person's giving a promise to appear;
(b) release the person on the person's entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge without sureties in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars that the officer in charge directs, but without deposit of money or other valuable security; or
(c) if the person is not ordinarily resident in the province in which the person is in custody or does not ordinarily reside within two hundred kilometres of the place in which the person is in custody, release the person on the person's entering into a recognizance before the officer in charge without sureties in the amount not exceeding five hundred dollars that the officer in charge directs and, if the officer in charge so directs, on depositing with the officer in charge such sum of money or other valuable security not exceeding in amount or value five hundred dollars, as the officer in charge directs.
(2) In addition to the conditions for release set out in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c), the officer in charge may also require the person to enter into an undertaking in Form 11.1 in which the person, in order to be released, undertakes to do one or more of the following things:
(a) to remain within a territorial jurisdiction specified in the undertaking;
(b) to notify a peace officer or another person mentioned in the undertaking of any change in his or her address, employment or occupation;
(c) to abstain from communicating with any witness or other person mentioned in the undertaking, or from going to a place mentioned in the undertaking, except in accordance with the conditions specified in the undertaking;
(d) to deposit the person's passport with the peace officer or other person mentioned in the undertaking;
(e) to abstain from possessing a firearm and to surrender any firearm in the possession of the person and any authorization, licence or registration certificate or other document enabling that person to acquire or possess a firearm;
(f) to report at the times specified in the undertaking to a peace officer or other person designated in the undertaking; and
(g) to abstain from
(i) the consumption of alcohol or other intoxicating substances, or
(ii) the consumption of drugs except in accordance with a medical prescription.
(3) A person who has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2) may, at any time before or at his or her appearance pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(1) to replace his or her undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.
(4) Where a person has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2), the prosecutor may
(a) at any time before the appearance of the person pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, after three days notice has been given to that person, or
(b) at the appearance,
apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(2) to replace the undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 499; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 186; 1994, c. 44, s. 40; 1997, c. 18, s. 53.
Money or other valuable security to be deposited with justice
500. Where a person has, pursuant to paragraph 498(1)(h) or 499(g), deposited any sum of money or other valuable security with the officer in charge, the officer in charge shall, forthwith after the deposit thereof, cause the money or valuable security to be delivered to a justice for deposit with the justice.
R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Contents of appearance notice, promise to appear and recognizance
501. (1) An appearance notice issued by a peace officer or a promise to appear given to, or a recognizance entered into before, an officer in charge or another peace officer shall
(a) set out the name of the accused;
(b) set out the substance of the offence that the accused is alleged to have committed; and
(c) require the accused to attend court at a time and place to be stated therein and to attend thereafter as required by the court in order to be dealt with according to law.
(2) An appearance notice issued by a peace officer or a promise to appear given to, or a recognizance entered into before, an officer in charge or another peace officer shall set out the text of subsections 145(5) and (6) and section 502.
Attendance for purposes of Identification of Criminals Act
(3) An appearance notice issued by a peace officer or a promise to appear given to, or a recognizance entered into before, an officer in charge or another peace officer may require the accused to appear at a time and place stated in it for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act, where the accused is alleged to have committed an indictable offence and, in the case of an offence designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act, the Attorney General, within the meaning of that Act, has not made an election under section 50 of that Act.
(4) An accused shall be requested to sign in duplicate his appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance and, whether or not he complies with that request, one of the duplicates shall be given to the accused, but if the accused fails or refuses to sign, the lack of his signature does not invalidate the appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance, as the case may be.
Proof of issue of appearance notice
(5) The issue of an appearance notice by any peace officer may be proved by the oral evidence, given under oath, of the officer who issued it or by the officer's affidavit made before a justice or other person authorized to administer oaths or to take affidavits.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 501; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 76; 1992, c. 47, s. 69; 1994, c. 44, ss. 41, 94; 1996, c. 7, s. 38.
502. Where an accused who is required by an appearance notice or promise to appear or by a recognizance entered into before an officer in charge or another peace officer to appear at a time and place stated therein for the purposes of the Identification of Criminals Act does not appear at that time and place, a justice may, where the appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance has been confirmed by a justice under section 508, issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused for the offence with which the accused is charged.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 502; 1992, c. 47, s. 70; 1996, c. 7, s. 38; 1997, c. 18, s. 54.
Appearance of Accused before Justice
503. (1) A peace officer who arrests a person with or without warrant or to whom a person is delivered under subsection 494(3) shall cause the person to be detained in custody and, in accordance with the following provisions, to be taken before a justice to be dealt with according to law, namely,
(a) where a justice is available within a period of twenty-four hours after the person has been arrested by or delivered to the peace officer, the person shall be taken before a justice without unreasonable delay and in any event within that period, and
(b) where a justice is not available within a period of twenty-four hours after the person has been arrested by or delivered to the peace officer, the person shall be taken before a justice as soon as possible,
unless, at any time before the expiration of the time prescribed in paragraph (a) or (b) for taking the person before a justice,
(c) the peace officer or officer in charge releases the person under any other provision of this Part, or
(d) the peace officer or officer in charge is satisfied that the person should be released from custody, whether unconditionally under subsection (4) or otherwise conditionally or unconditionally, and so releases him.
(2) Where a peace officer or an officer in charge is satisfied that a person described in subsection (1) should be released from custody conditionally, the officer may, unless the person is detained in custody for an offence mentioned in section 522, release that person on the person's giving a promise to appear or entering into a recognizance in accordance with paragraphs 498(1)(f) to (h) and subsection (2.1).
(2.1) In addition to the conditions referred to in subsection (2), the peace officer or officer in charge may, in order to release the person, require the person to enter into an undertaking in Form 11.1 in which the person undertakes to do one or more of the following things:
(a) to remain within a territorial jurisdiction specified in the undertaking;
(b) to notify the peace officer or another person mentioned in the undertaking of any change in his or her address, employment or occupation;
(c) to abstain from communicating with any witness or other person mentioned in the undertaking, or from going to a place mentioned in the undertaking, except in accordance with the conditions specified in the undertaking;
(d) to deposit the person's passport with the peace officer or other person mentioned in the undertaking;
(e) to abstain from possessing a firearm and to surrender any firearm in the possession of the person and any authorization, licence or registration certificate or other document enabling that person to acquire or possess a firearm;
(f) to report at the times specified in the undertaking to a peace officer or other person designated in the undertaking; or
(g) to abstain from
(i) the consumption of alcohol or other intoxicating substances, or
(ii) the consumption of drugs except in accordance with a medical prescription.
(2.2) A person who has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2.1) may, at any time before or at his or her appearance pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(1) to replace his or her undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.
(2.3) Where a person has entered into an undertaking under subsection (2.1), the prosecutor may
(a) at any time before the appearance of the person pursuant to a promise to appear or recognizance, after three days notice has been given to that person, or
(b) at the appearance,
apply to a justice for an order under subsection 515(2) to replace the undertaking, and section 515 applies, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to such a person.
Remand in custody for return to jurisdiction where offence alleged to have been committed
(3) Where a person has been arrested without warrant for an indictable offence alleged to have been committed in Canada outside the territorial division where the arrest took place, the person shall, within the time prescribed in paragraph (1)(a) or (b), be taken before a justice within whose jurisdiction the person was arrested unless, where the offence was alleged to have been committed within the province in which the person was arrested, the person was taken before a justice within whose jurisdiction the offence was alleged to have been committed, and the justice within whose jurisdiction the person was arrested
(a) if the justice is not satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person arrested is the person alleged to have committed the offence, shall release that person; or
(b) if the justice is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person arrested is the person alleged to have committed the offence, may
(i) remand the person to the custody of a peace officer to await execution of a warrant for his or her arrest in accordance with section 528, but if no warrant is so executed within a period of six days after the time he or she is remanded to such custody, the person in whose custody he or she then is shall release him or her, or
(ii) where the offence was alleged to have been committed within the province in which the person was arrested, order the person to be taken before a justice having jurisdiction with respect to the offence.
(3.1) Notwithstanding paragraph (3)(b), a justice may, with the consent of the prosecutor, order that the person referred to in subsection (3), pending the execution of a warrant for the arrest of that person, be released
(a) unconditionally; or
(b) on any of the following terms to which the prosecutor consents, namely,
(i) giving an undertaking, including an undertaking to appear at a specified time before the court that has jurisdiction with respect to the indictable offence that the person is alleged to have committed, or
(ii) entering into a recognizance described in any of paragraphs 515(2)(a) to (e)
with such conditions described in subsection 515(4) as the justice considers desirable and to which the prosecutor consents.
Release of person about to commit indictable offence
(4) A peace officer or an officer in charge having the custody of a person who has been arrested without warrant as a person about to commit an indictable offence shall release that person unconditionally as soon as practicable after he is satisfied that the continued detention of that person in custody is no longer necessary in order to prevent the commission by him of an indictable offence.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4), a peace officer or an officer in charge having the custody of a person referred to in that subsection who does not release the person before the expiration of the time prescribed in paragraph (1)(a) or (b) for taking the person before the justice shall be deemed to be acting lawfully and in the execution of his duty for the purposes of
(a) any proceedings under this or any other Act of Parliament; or
(b) any other proceedings, unless in such proceedings it is alleged and established by the person making the allegation that the peace officer or officer in charge did not comply with the requirements of subsection (4).
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 503; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 77; 1994, c. 44, s. 42; 1997, c. 18, s. 55.
Information, Summons and Warrant
In what cases justice may receive information
504. Any one who, on reasonable grounds, believes that a person has committed an indictable offence may lay an information in writing and under oath before a justice, and the justice shall receive the information, where it is alleged
(a) that the person has committed, anywhere, an indictable offence that may be tried in the province in which the justice resides, and that the person
(i) is or is believed to be, or
(ii) resides or is believed to reside,
within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice;
(b) that the person, wherever he may be, has committed an indictable offence within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice;
(c) that the person has, anywhere, unlawfully received property that was unlawfully obtained within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice; or
(d) that the person has in his possession stolen property within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice.
R.S., c. C-34, s. 455; R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Time within which information to be laid in certain cases
505. Where
(a) an appearance notice has been issued to an accused under section 496, or
(b) an accused has been released from custody under section 497 or 498,
an information relating to the offence alleged to have been committed by the accused or relating to an included or other offence alleged to have been committed by him shall be laid before a justice as soon as practicable thereafter and in any event before the time stated in the appearance notice, promise to appear or recognizance issued to or given or entered into by the accused for his attendance in court.
R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
506. An information laid under section 504 or 505 may be in Form 2.
R.S., c. 2(2nd Supp.), s. 5.
Justice to hear informant and witnesses
507. (1) Subject to subsection 523(1.1), a justice who receives an information, other than an information laid before the justice under section 505, shall, except where an accused has already been arrested with or without a warrant,
(a) hear and consider, ex parte,
(i) the allegations of the informant, and
(ii) the evidence of witnesses, where he considers it desirable or necessary to do so; and
(b) where he considers that a case for so doing is made out, issue, in accordance with this section, either a summons or a warrant for the arrest of the accused to compel the accused to attend before him or some other justice for the same territorial division to answer to a charge of an offence.
(2) No justice shall refuse to issue a summons or warrant by reason only that the alleged offence is one for which a person may be arrested without warrant.
Procedure when witnesses attend
(3) A justice who hears the evidence of a witness pursuant to subsection (1) shall
(a) take the evidence on oath; and
(b) cause the evidence to be taken in accordance with section 540 in so far as that section is capable of being applied.
Summons to be issued except in certain cases
(4) Where a justice considers that a case is made out for compelling an accused to attend before him to answer to a charge of an offence, he shall issue a summons to the accused unless the allegations of the informant or the evidence of any witness or witnesses taken in accordance with subsection (3) discloses reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary in the public interest to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused.
(5) A justice shall not sign a summons or warrant in blank.
CONSOLIDATED STATUTES OF CANADA
C
Criminal Code
PART XVI COMPELLING APPEARANCE OF ACCUSED BEFORE A JUSTICE AND INTERIM RELEASE
Interpretation