National Defence Act

Marginal note:Sentence of imprisonment for life

• 140.3 (1) Where a court martial imposes a punishment of imprisonment for life, the sentence to be pronounced shall be

  • (a) in respect of a person who has been convicted of having committed traitorously an offence of misconduct in the presence of an enemy contrary to section 73 or 74, an offence related to security contrary to section 75 or an offence in relation to prisoners of war contrary to section 76, that the person be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served twenty-five years of the sentence;

  • (b) in respect of a person who has been convicted of an offence of high treason or an offence of first degree murder, that the person be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served twenty-five years of the sentence;

  • (c) in respect of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder if that person has previously been convicted of culpable homicide that is murder, that the person be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served twenty-five years of the sentence;

  • (d) in respect of a person who has been convicted of an offence of second degree murder, that the person be sentenced to imprisonment for life without eligibility for parole until the person has served at least ten years of the sentence or any greater number of years, not being more than twenty-five, that has been substituted under subsection (2); and

  • (e) in respect of a person who has been convicted of any other offence, that the person be sentenced to imprisonment for life with normal eligibility for parole.

• Marginal note:Provisions of Criminal Code apply

  (2) Sections 745.1 to 746.1 of the Criminal Code apply, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to a sentence of life imprisonment imposed under this Act, and

  • (a) a reference in sections 745.2 to 745.3 of the Criminal Code to a jury is deemed to be a reference to the panel of a General Court Martial; and

  • (b) a reference in section 745.6 of the Criminal Code to the province in which a conviction took place is deemed, in respect of a conviction that took place outside Canada, to be a reference to the province in which the offender is incarcerated when the offender makes an application under that section.