Clause 45 — Meaning of "qualifying trigger"

Part of Bill Presented – in the House of Commons at 6:33 pm on 9 November 2009.

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Photo of Claire Ward Claire Ward Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice 6:33, 9 November 2009

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker.

The history of the partial defence of provocation has led to a commonly held belief that this defence can be abused by men who kill their wives out of sexual jealousy or revenge for infidelity. This erodes the confidence of the public in the fairness of the criminal justice system. Even accepting that a great deal has been done in recent years to address this problem, and that pleas of provocation generally do not succeed on the basis of sexual infidelity, it is still true that under current law that defence can be raised and could succeed.