Criminal Code
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 536.4 — Order for hearing
The justice before whom a preliminary inquiry is to be held may order, on application of the prosecutor or the accused or on the justice’s own motion, that a hearing be held, within the period fixed…
Section 536.5 — Agreement to limit scope of preliminary inquiry
Whether or not a hearing is held under section 536.4, the prosecutor and the accused may agree to limit the scope of the preliminary inquiry to specific issues. An agreement shall be filed with the…
Section 537 — Powers of justice
A justice acting under this Part may adjourn an inquiry from time to time and change the place of hearing, where it appears to be desirable to do so by reason of the absence of a witness, the…
Section 538 — Organization
Where an accused is an organization, subsections 556(1) and (2) apply with such modifications as the circumstances require.
Section 539 — Order restricting publication of evidence taken at preliminary inquiry
Prior to the commencement of the taking of evidence at a preliminary inquiry, the justice holding the inquiry may, if application therefor is made by the prosecutor, and shall, if application…
Section 540 — Taking evidence
Where an accused is before a justice holding a preliminary inquiry, the justice shall take the evidence under oath of the witnesses called on the part of the prosecution, subject to subsection…
Section 541 — Hearing of witnesses
When the evidence of the witnesses called on the part of the prosecution has been taken down and, if required by this Part, has been read, the justice shall, subject to this section and subsection…
Section 542 — Confession or admission of accused
Nothing in this Act prevents a prosecutor giving in evidence at a preliminary inquiry any admission, confession or statement made at any time by the accused that by law is admissible against him.…
Section 543 — Order that accused appear or be taken before justice where offence alleged to have been committed
If an accused is charged with an offence alleged to have been committed out of the limits of the jurisdiction in which they have been charged, the justice before whom they appear or are brought may,…
Section 544 — Accused absconding during inquiry
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, where an accused, whether or not he is charged jointly with another, absconds during the course of a preliminary inquiry into an offence with which he…
Section 545 — Witness refusing to be examined
Where a person, being present at a preliminary inquiry and being required by the justice to give evidence, refuses to be sworn, having been sworn, refuses to answer the questions that are put to him,…
Section 546 — Irregularity or variance not to affect validity
The validity of any proceeding at or subsequent to a preliminary inquiry is not affected by any irregularity or defect in the substance or form of the summons or warrant; any variance between the…
Section 547 — Adjournment if accused misled
Where it appears to the justice that the accused has been deceived or misled by any irregularity, defect or variance mentioned in section 546, he may adjourn the inquiry and may remand the accused or…
Section 547.1 — Inability of justice to continue
Where a justice acting under this Part has commenced to take evidence and dies or is unable to continue for any reason, another justice may continue taking the evidence at the point at which the…
Section 548 — Order to stand trial or discharge
When all the evidence has been taken by the justice, he shall if in his opinion there is sufficient evidence to put the accused on trial for the offence charged or any other indictable offence in…
Section 549 — Order to stand trial at any stage of inquiry with consent
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the justice may, at any stage of a preliminary inquiry, with the consent of the accused and the prosecutor, order the accused to stand trial in the…
Section 550 — Recognizance of witness
Where an accused is ordered to stand trial, the justice who held the preliminary inquiry may require any witness whose evidence is, in his opinion, material to enter into a recognizance to give…
Section 551 — Transmission of record by justice
If a justice orders an accused to stand trial, the justice shall immediately send to the clerk or other proper officer of the court by which the accused is to be tried, any information, evidence,…
Section 551.1 — Appointment
On application by the prosecutor or the accused or on his or her own motion, the Chief Justice or the Chief Judge of the court before which a trial is to be or is being held or the judge that the…
Section 551.2 — Role
The case management judge shall assist in promoting a fair and efficient trial, including by ensuring that the evidence on the merits is presented, to the extent possible, without interruption.
Section 551.3 — Powers before evidence on merits presented
In performing their duties before the stage of the presentation of the evidence on the merits, the case management judge, as a trial judge, exercises the powers that a trial judge has before that…
Section 551.4 — Information relevant to presentation of evidence on merits to be part of court record
When the case management judge is of the opinion that the measures to promote a fair and efficient trial that can be taken before the stage of the presentation of the evidence on the merits have been…
Section 551.5 — Trial continuous
Even if the judge who hears the evidence on the merits is not the same as the case management judge, the trial of an accused shall proceed continuously, subject to adjournment by the court.
Section 551.6 — Issues referred to case management judge
During the presentation of the evidence on the merits, the case management judge shall adjudicate any issue referred to him or her by the judge hearing the evidence on the merits. For the purposes of…
Section 551.7 — Decision whether to hold joint hearing
If an issue referred to in any of subparagraphs 551.3(1)(g)(i) to (iii) is to be adjudicated in related trials that are to be or are being held in the same province before a court of the same…
Section 552 — Definitions
In this Part, judge means, in the Province of Ontario, a judge of the superior court of criminal jurisdiction of the Province, in the Province of Quebec, a judge of the Court of Quebec, in the…
Section 553 — Absolute jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of a provincial court judge, or in Nunavut, of a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice, to try an accused is absolute and does not depend on the consent of the accused where the…
Section 554 — Trial by provincial court judge with consent
Subject to subsection (2), if an accused is charged in an information with an indictable offence other than an offence that is mentioned in section 469, and the offence is not one over which a…
Section 555 — If charge should be prosecuted by indictment
If in any proceedings under this Part an accused is before a provincial court judge and it appears to the provincial court judge that for any reason the charge should be prosecuted by indictment, the…
Section 555.1 — If charge should be prosecuted by indictment — Nunavut
If in any criminal proceedings under this Part an accused is before a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice and it appears to the judge that for any reason the charge should be prosecuted by…
Section 556 — Organization
An accused organization shall appear by counsel or agent. Where an accused organization does not appear pursuant to a summons and service of the summons on the organization is proved, the provincial…
Section 557 — Taking evidence
If an accused is tried by a provincial court judge or a judge of the Nunavut Court of Justice in accordance with this Part, the evidence of witnesses for the prosecutor and the accused must be taken…
Section 558 — Trial by judge without a jury
If an accused who is charged with an indictable offence, other than an offence mentioned in section 469, elects under section 536 or 536.1 or re-elects under section 561 or 561.1 to be tried by a…
Section 559 — Court of record
A judge who holds a trial under this Part shall, for all purposes thereof and proceedings connected therewith or relating thereto, be a court of record. The record of a trial that a judge holds under…
Section 560 — Duty of judge
If an accused elects, under section 536 or 536.1, to be tried by a judge without a jury, a judge having jurisdiction shall on receiving a written notice from the sheriff or other person having…
Section 561 — Right to re-elect
An accused who elects or is deemed to have elected a mode of trial other than trial by a provincial court judge may re-elect, if the accused is charged with an offence for which a preliminary inquiry…
Section 561.1 — Right to re-elect with consent — Nunavut
An accused who has elected or is deemed to have elected a mode of trial may re-elect any other mode of trial at any time with the written consent of the prosecutor. An accused who has elected or is…
Section 562 — Proceedings following re-election
If the accused re-elects under subparagraph 561(1)(a)(i) before the completion of the preliminary inquiry, under paragraph 561(1)(a) after the completion of the preliminary inquiry or under paragraph…
Section 562.1 — Proceedings following re-election — Nunavut
If the accused re-elects under subsection 561.1(1) to be tried by a judge without a jury and does not request a preliminary inquiry under subsection 536.1(3), or if the accused re-elects any other…
Section 563 — Proceedings on re-election to be tried by provincial court judge without jury
Where an accused re-elects under section 561 to be tried by a provincial court judge, the accused shall be tried on the information that was before the justice at the preliminary inquiry, if…
Section 563.1 — Proceedings on re-election to be tried by judge without jury — Nunavut
If an accused re-elects under section 561.1 to be tried by a judge without a jury and does not request a preliminary inquiry under subsection 536.1(3) or is not entitled to make such a request under…
Section 564
[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 110]
Section 565 — Election deemed to have been made
If an accused is ordered to stand trial for an offence that, under this Part, may be tried by a judge without a jury, the accused shall, for the purposes of the provisions of this Part relating to…
Section 566 — Indictment
The trial of an accused for an indictable offence, other than a trial before a provincial court judge, shall be on an indictment in writing setting forth the offence with which he is charged. Where…
Section 566.1 — Indictment — Nunavut
The trial of an accused for an indictable offence, other than an indictable offence referred to in section 553 or an offence in respect of which the accused has elected or re-elected to be tried by a…
Section 567 — Mode of trial when two or more accused
Despite any other provision of this Part, if two or more persons are jointly charged in an information, unless all of them elect or re-elect or are deemed to have elected the same mode of trial, the…
Section 567.1 — Mode of trial if two or more accused — Nunavut
Despite any other provision of this Part, if two or more persons are jointly charged in an information, unless all of them elect or re-elect or are deemed to have elected the same mode of trial, the…
Section 568 — Attorney General may require trial by jury
Even if an accused elects under section 536 or re-elects under section 561 or subsection 565(2) to be tried by a judge or provincial court judge, as the case may be, the Attorney General may require…
Section 569 — Attorney General may require trial by jury — Nunavut
Even if an accused elects under section 536.1 or re-elects under section 561.1 or subsection 565(2) to be tried by a judge without a jury, the Attorney General may require the accused to be tried by…
Section 570 — Record of conviction or order
If an accused who is tried under this Part is determined by a judge or provincial court judge to be guilty of an offence on acceptance of a plea of guilty or on a finding of guilt, the judge or…