La défense de contrainte vue par la Cour d'appel de l'Ontario

R. v. Yumnu, 2010 ONCA 637 (CanLII)

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[197] The essential elements of the excuse of duress include:

i. a threat of death or serious bodily harm to the accused;

ii. a belief on the accused’s part that the threat could be carried out;

iii. the threat could cause a reasonable person in the accused’s position to do as the accused did;

iv. the accused had no safe avenue of escape; and

v. the accused committed the offence only because of the threats of death or serious bodily harm.

R. v. Hibbert, 1995 CanLII 110 (SCC), [1995] 2 S.C.R. 973, at paras. 51-62.

[198] In some instances, that a person commits an offence as a result of threats of death or serious bodily harm can be relevant to proof of the mental or fault element in the crime. In those circumstances, an accused may rely on evidence of threats to contend that the prosecutor has not proven the necessary fault or mental element beyond a reasonable doubt: Hibbert at para. 45.

[199] But duress is also an excuse. Regardless of its relevance to proof of the mental or fault element, an accused may be able to invoke the statutory or common law excuse to escape conviction: Hibbert at para. 45.