Strengthening Military Justice in the Defence of Canada Act (S.C. 2013, c. 24)
Full Document:
Assented to 2013-06-19
Marginal note:1998, c. 35, s. 57
63. Subsection 204(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Commencement of term
204. (1) Subject to subsections (3) and 148(1) and sections 215 to 217, the term of a punishment of imprisonment or detention shall commence on the day on which the service tribunal pronounces sentence on the offender.
Marginal note:1998, c. 35, s. 60
64. Section 215 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Suspension of execution of punishment
215. (1) If an offender is sentenced to imprisonment or detention, the execution of the punishment may be suspended by the service tribunal that imposes the punishment or, if the offender’s sentence is affirmed or substituted on appeal, by the Court Martial Appeal Court.
Marginal note:Conditions
(2) In suspending the execution of a punishment, the service tribunal or the Court Martial Appeal Court, as the case may be, shall impose the following conditions on the offender:
(a) to keep the peace and be of good behaviour;
(b) to attend any hearing under section 215.2 when ordered to do so by the appropriate person referred to in any of paragraphs 215.2(1)(a) to (c); and
(c) in the case of a person who is not an officer or a non-commissioned member, to notify the Provost Marshal in advance of any change of name or address, and to promptly notify the Provost Marshal of any change of employment or occupation.
Marginal note:Other conditions
(3) A service tribunal or the Court Martial Appeal Court may, in addition to the conditions described in subsection (2), impose any reasonable conditions.
Marginal note:Term if suspended punishment put into execution
(4) If a punishment that has been suspended under subsection (1) is put into execution, the term of the punishment is deemed to commence on the day on which it is put into execution, but there shall be deducted from the term any time during which the offender has been incarcerated following the pronouncement of the sentence.
Marginal note:Varying conditions
215.1 On application by an offender, a condition imposed under subsection 215(3) may be varied, or another condition substituted for that condition, by
(a) the offender’s commanding officer, in the case of a condition imposed by a summary trial;
(b) a military judge, in the case of a condition imposed by a court martial; or
(c) a judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court, in the case of a condition imposed by that Court.
Marginal note:Hearing into breach of conditions
215.2 (1) On application by a representative of the Canadian Forces who is a member of a class designated for that purpose by regulations made by the Governor in Council, a determination of whether an offender has breached a condition imposed under section 215 may be made by
(a) the offender’s commanding officer, in the case of a condition imposed by a summary trial;
(b) a military judge, in the case of a condition imposed by a court martial; or
(c) a judge of the Court Martial Appeal Court, in the case of a condition imposed by that Court.
Marginal note:Revocation of suspension or changes to conditions
(2) If a person referred to in any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (c) determines, after giving the offender and the applicant an opportunity to make representations, that the offender has breached a condition, the person may
(a) revoke the suspension of a punishment and commit the offender or, if the person is not empowered to commit the offender, direct an authority so empowered to do so; or
(b) vary any conditions imposed under subsection 215(3) or section 215.1 and add or substitute other conditions as he or she sees fit.
Marginal note:Non-appearance of accused person
215.3 A person who orders an offender to attend for a hearing under section 215.2 may, if the offender fails to attend as ordered, issue a warrant for the offender’s arrest in the form prescribed in regulations made by the Governor in Council.
Marginal note:1998, c. 35, s. 60
65. Subsections 216(1) and (2) of the Act are replaced by the following:
Definition of “suspending authority”
216. (1) In this section and section 217, “suspending authority” means any authority prescribed to be a suspending authority in regulations made by the Governor in Council.
Marginal note:Suspension of imprisonment or detention
(2) A suspending authority may suspend a punishment of imprisonment or detention, whether or not the offender has already been committed to undergo that punishment, if there are imperative reasons relating to military operations or the offender’s welfare.
Marginal note:Notification
(2.1) A suspending authority that suspends a punishment shall, unless the punishment was included in a sentence that was imposed at a summary trial, provide written reasons for the suspension to any person prescribed in regulations made by the Governor in Council.
Marginal note:Committal after suspension
(2.2) A suspending authority may — if the reasons described in subsection (2) no longer apply or if the offender’s conduct is inconsistent with the reasons for which the punishment was suspended — revoke the suspension of a punishment and commit the offender or, if the person is not empowered to commit the offender, direct an authority so empowered to do so.
66. Subsection 217(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Review and remission
217. (1) If a punishment has been suspended, it may at any time, and shall at intervals of not more than three months, be reviewed by a suspending authority. The suspending authority may, at the time of the review and in accordance with regulations made by the Governor in Council, remit the punishment.
67. Section 218 of the Act is repealed.
68. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 226:
Parole Eligibility
Marginal note:Sentence of imprisonment for life
226.1 (1) A court martial that imposes a punishment of imprisonment for life shall pronounce the following sentence:
(a) in the case of a person who has been convicted of having committed traitorously an offence of misconduct in the presence of an enemy (section 73 or 74), an offence related to security (section 75) or an offence in relation to prisoners of war (section 76), imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;
(b) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of high treason or an offence of first degree murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;
(c) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder and has previously been convicted of culpable homicide that is murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served 25 years of the sentence;
(d) in the case of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder, imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served at least 10 years of the sentence or any greater number of years, not being more than 25, that has been substituted under subsection (2); or
(e) in the case of a person who has been convicted of any other offence, imprisonment for life with normal eligibility for parole.
Marginal note:Provisions of Criminal Code apply
(2) Sections 745.1 to 746.1 of the Criminal Code apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed under this Act, and for that purpose
(a) a reference in sections 745.2 and 745.3 of the Criminal Code to a jury shall be read as a reference to the panel of a General Court Martial; and
(b) in the case of a conviction that took place outside Canada, a reference in section 745.6 of the Criminal Code to the province in which a conviction took place shall be read as a reference to the province in which the offender is incarcerated when they make an application under that section.
Marginal note:Power of court martial to delay parole
226.2 (1) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed otherwise than as a minimum punishment or a sentence of imprisonment for two years or more on conviction for an offence set out in Schedule I or II to that Act that is punishable under section 130 of this Act, a court martial may order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less.
Marginal note:Condition
(2) The court martial may only make the order if it is satisfied, having regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the person’s character and circumstances, that the expression of society’s denunciation of the offence or the objective of specific or general deterrence requires that the order be made.
Marginal note:Criminal organization offences
(3) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment for life that is imposed otherwise than as a minimum punishment or a sentence of imprisonment for two years or more on conviction under this Act for a criminal organization offence, the court martial may order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less.
Marginal note:Power of court martial to delay parole
(4) Despite section 120 of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, if a person receives a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more, including a sentence of imprisonment for life, on conviction under this Act for a terrorism offence, the court martial shall order that the portion of the sentence that must be served before the person may be released on full parole is one half of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less, unless the court martial is satisfied, having regard to the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the person’s character and circumstances, that the expression of society’s denunciation of the offence and the objectives of specific or general deterrence would be adequately served by a period of parole ineligibility determined in accordance with the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.
Marginal note:Objectives
(5) The paramount objectives that are to guide the court martial under this section are denunciation and specific or general deterrence, with the rehabilitation of the person, in all cases, being subordinate to those paramount objectives.
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