Legislation
What remains of the original common law defence of marital coercion is contained in section 47 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925:
| “ | Any presumption of law that an offence committed by a wife in the presence of her husband is committed under the coercion of the husband is hereby abolished, but on a charge against a wife for any offence other than treason or murder it shall be a good defence to prove that the offence was committed in the presence of, and under the coercion of, the husband. | ” |
Section 37 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 (c.15) (N.I.) is identical to the section cited above and applies to Northern Ireland.
Paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Crimes Act 1900 makes provision for New South Wales.
Read more about this topic: Marital Coercion
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