Section 357 — Crimes Act 1961: Special pleas

357 Special pleas (1) The following special pleas, and no others, may be pleaded according to the provisions hereinafter contained—that is to say, a plea of previous acquittal, a plea of previous conviction, and a plea of pardon. (2) All other grounds of defence may be relied on under the plea of not guilty. (3) The pleas of previous acquittal, or previous conviction, and pardon may be pleaded together, and if pleaded shall be disposed of by the Judge, without a jury, before the accused is called on to plead further; and, if every such plea is disposed of against the accused, he shall be allowed to plead not guilty. (4) In any plea of previous acquittal or previous conviction it shall be sufficient for the accused to state that he has been lawfully acquitted or convicted, as the case may be, of the offence charged in the count or counts to which that plea is pleaded. (5) [Repealed] Compare: 1908 No 32 s 402; Criminal Code (1954),

s 516(3) (Canada) Subsection (5) was repealed, as from 1 February 1993, by section 56(2) Defamation Act 1992 (1992 No 105).