Criminal Code
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 623 — Trial of organization
Where an organization appears and pleads to an indictment or a plea of not guilty is entered by order of the court under section 622, the court shall proceed with the trial of the indictment and,…
Section 624 — How recorded
It is sufficient, in making up the record of a conviction or acquittal on an indictment, to copy the indictment and the plea that was pleaded, without a formal caption or heading. The court shall…
Section 625 — Form of record in case of amendment
Where it is necessary to draw up a formal record in proceedings in which the indictment has been amended, the record shall be drawn up in the form in which the indictment remained after the…
Section 625.1 — Pre-hearing conference
Subject to subsection (2), on application by the prosecutor or the accused or on its own motion, the court, or a judge of the court, before which, or the judge, provincial court judge or justice…
Section 626 — Qualification of jurors
A person who is qualified as a juror according to, and summoned as a juror in accordance with, the laws of a province is qualified to serve as a juror in criminal proceedings in that province.…
Section 626.1 — Presiding judge
The judge before whom an accused is tried may be either the judge who presided over matters pertaining to the selection of a jury before the commencement of a trial or another judge of the same court.
Section 627 — Support for juror with physical disability
The judge may permit a juror with a physical disability who is otherwise qualified to serve as a juror to have technical, personal, interpretative or other support services.
Section 628
[Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st Supp.), s. 129]
Section 629 — Challenging the jury panel
The accused or the prosecutor may challenge the jury panel only on the ground of partiality, fraud or wilful misconduct on the part of the sheriff or other officer by whom the panel was returned. A…
Section 630 — Trying ground of challenge
Where a challenge is made under section 629, the judge shall determine whether the alleged ground of challenge is true or not, and where he is satisfied that the alleged ground of challenge is true,…
Section 631 — Names of jurors on cards
The name of each juror on a panel of jurors that has been returned, his number on the panel and his address shall be written on a separate card, and all the cards shall, as far as possible, be of…
Section 631.1 — Electronic or automated means
Any electronic or other automated means may be used to select jurors so long as the jurors would be randomly selected as required by the jury selection process described in subsections 631(1) to (5).
Section 632 — Excusing jurors
The judge may, at any time before the commencement of a trial, order that any juror be excused from jury service, whether or not the juror has been called pursuant to subsection 631(3) or (3.1) or…
Section 633 — Stand by
The judge may direct a juror who has been called under subsection 631(3) or (3.1) to stand by for reasons of personal hardship, maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice or any…
Section 634
[Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 269]
Section 635 — Order of challenges
The accused shall be called on before the prosecutor is called on to declare whether the accused challenges the first juror for cause, and after that the prosecutor and the accused shall be called on…
Section 636 and 637
[Repealed, 1992, c. 41, s. 2]
Section 638 — Challenge for cause
A prosecutor or an accused is entitled to any number of challenges on the ground that the name of a juror does not appear on the panel, but no misnomer or misdescription is a ground of challenge…
Section 639 — Challenge in writing
Where a challenge is made on a ground mentioned in section 638, the court may, in its discretion, require the party that challenges to put the challenge in writing. A challenge may be in Form 41. A…
Section 640 — Determination of challenge for cause
If a challenge is made on a ground mentioned in section 638, the judge shall determine whether the alleged ground is true or not and, if the judge is satisfied that it is true, the juror shall not be…
Section 641 — Calling persons who have stood by
If a full jury and any alternate jurors have not been sworn and no cards remain to be drawn, the persons who have been directed to stand by shall be called again in the order in which their cards…
Section 642 — Summoning other jurors when panel exhausted
If a full jury and any alternate jurors considered advisable cannot be provided notwithstanding that the relevant provisions of this Part have been complied with, the court may, at the request of the…
Section 642.1 — Substitution of alternate jurors
Alternate jurors shall attend at the commencement of the presentation of the evidence on the merits and, if there is not a full jury present, shall replace any absent juror, in the order in which…
Section 643 — Who shall be the jury
The 12, 13 or 14 jurors who are sworn in accordance with this Part and present at the commencement of the presentation of the evidence on the merits shall be the jury to hear the evidence on the…
Section 644 — Discharge of juror
Where in the course of a trial the judge is satisfied that a juror should not, by reason of illness or other reasonable cause, continue to act, the judge may discharge the juror. A judge may select…
Section 645 — Trial continuous
The trial of an accused shall proceed continuously subject to adjournment by the court. A judge may adjourn a trial from time to time in the same sittings. For the purpose of subsection (2), no…
Section 646 — Taking evidence
On the trial of an accused for an indictable offence, the evidence of the witnesses for the prosecutor and the accused and the addresses of the prosecutor and the accused or counsel for the accused…
Section 647 — Separation of jurors
The judge may, at any time before the jury retires to consider its verdict, permit the members of the jury to separate. Where permission to separate under subsection (1) cannot be given or is not…
Section 648 — Restriction on publication
After permission to separate is given to members of a jury under subsection 647(1), no information regarding any portion of the trial at which the jury is not present shall be published in any…
Section 649 — Disclosure of jury proceedings
Every member of a jury, and every person providing technical, personal, interpretative or other support services to a juror with a physical disability, who discloses any information relating to the…
Section 650 — Accused to be present
Subject to subsections (1.1) and (2) and section 650.01, an accused, other than an organization, shall be present in court during the whole of their trial, either in person or, if authorized under…
Section 650.01 — Designation of counsel of record
An accused may appoint counsel to represent the accused for any proceedings under this Act by filing a designation with the court. The designation must contain the name and address of the counsel and…
Section 650.02 — Remote appearance
The prosecutor or the counsel designated under section 650.01 may appear before the court by audioconference or videoconference, if the technological means is satisfactory to the court.
Section 650.1 — Pre-charge conference
A judge in a jury trial may, before the charge to the jury, confer with the accused or counsel for the accused and the prosecutor with respect to the matters that should be explained to the jury and…
Section 651 — Summing up by prosecutor
Where an accused, or any one of several accused being tried together, is defended by counsel, the counsel shall, at the end of the case for the prosecution, declare whether or not he intends to…
Section 652 — View
The judge may, where it appears to be in the interests of justice, at any time after the jury has been sworn and before it gives its verdict, direct the jury to have a view of any place, thing or…
Section 652.1 — Trying of issues of indictment by jury
After the charge to the jury, the jury shall retire to try the issues of the indictment. However, if there are more than 12 jurors remaining, the judge shall identify the 12 jurors who are to retire…
Section 653 — Disagreement of jury
Where the judge is satisfied that the jury is unable to agree on its verdict and that further detention of the jury would be useless, he may in his discretion discharge that jury and direct a new…
Section 653.1 — Mistrial — rulings binding at new trial
In the case of a mistrial, unless the court is satisfied that it would not be in the interests of justice, rulings relating to the disclosure or admissibility of evidence or the Canadian Charter of…
Section 654 — Proceeding on Sunday, etc., not invalid
The taking of the verdict of a jury and any proceeding incidental thereto is not invalid by reason only that it is done on Sunday or on a holiday.
Section 655 — Admissions at trial
Where an accused is on trial for an indictable offence, he or his counsel may admit any fact alleged against him for the purpose of dispensing with proof thereof.
Section 656 — Presumption — valuable minerals
In any proceeding in relation to theft or possession of a valuable mineral that is unrefined, partly refined, uncut or otherwise unprocessed by any person actively engaged in or on a mine, if it is…
Section 657 — Use in evidence of statement by accused
A statement made by an accused under subsection 541(3) and purporting to be signed by the justice before whom it was made may be given in evidence against the accused at his or her trial without…
Section 657.1 — Proof of ownership and value of property
In any proceedings, an affidavit or a solemn declaration of a person who claims to be the lawful owner of, or the person lawfully entitled to possession of, property that was the subject-matter of…
Section 657.2 — Theft and possession
Where an accused is charged with possession of any property obtained by the commission of an offence, evidence of the conviction or discharge of another person of theft of the property is admissible…
Section 657.3 — Expert testimony
In any proceedings, the evidence of a person as an expert may be given by means of a report accompanied by the affidavit or solemn declaration of the person, setting out, in particular, the…
Section 658 — Testimony as to date of birth
In any proceedings to which this Act applies, the testimony of a person as to the date of his or her birth is admissible as evidence of that date. In any proceedings to which this Act applies, the…
Section 659 — Children’s evidence
Any requirement whereby it is mandatory for a court to give the jury a warning about convicting an accused on the evidence of a child is abrogated.
Section 660 — Full offence charged, attempt proved
Where the complete commission of an offence charged is not proved but the evidence establishes an attempt to commit the offence, the accused may be convicted of the attempt.
Section 661 — Attempt charged, full offence proved
Where an attempt to commit an offence is charged but the evidence establishes the commission of the complete offence, the accused is not entitled to be acquitted, but the jury may convict him of the…