CRIMINAL LAW 1.10 ASSAULT
ASSAULT.
Provided for in chapter 25 of the Criminal Code.
Section 252 of the Criminal Code provides: A person who threatens to or touches another directly or indirectly without his genuine consent… The person making the threat should have the apparent ability to carry out the threat.
It goes further to provide that “force means” unconsented projection of heat, light, smell thereby making the victim uncomfortable is assault. See Lawal V Deputy Inspector General of Police.
***The reasonable man’s test is applied.
The definition of Section 252 seems to fuse the tort law of assault and battery.
Consent is the most important element of assault. Do not exceed the boundary consented to.
Section 24 of the Criminal Code should be read into the offence.
Words alone may not amount to assault, there needs to be some overt manifestation- Tuberville V Savage, R V Light.
Words can negate assault- Tuberville V Savage.
Section 252 only becomes an offence when it is unjustified and unlawful.
The apprehension of fear in the victim is the deciding factor in assault.
R V Saint George: The court held that although the gun pointed at the friend was unloaded, it still constituted an assault because of the state of mind of the friend.
Section 356(2) it entails resisting a police officer in the performance of his duty. It is a form of assault. Wilfully.
Albert V Laning: In this case, the officer was in mufti, he saw a young man threatening some other person. He tries to apprehend the boy. There ensued a tackle because the boy thought the police officer was a stranger. He decided to fight back. It was a honest mistake.
The whole of chapter 25 and 29 provide for instances of assault and clarifies assault in specific situations.
Section 229 is against euthanasia (assisting a person to die), consented or not.
