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PART III

CODE OF PETTY OFFENCES

BOOK VII

GENERAL PART

TITLE I DIRECTIVES GOVERNING LIABILITY TO PUNISHMENT

CHAPTER I SCOPE OF THE LEGAL PROVISIONS

Article 734- Reference to General Principles.

Except in cases where the provisions of this Book state otherwise,

the principles and rules of the general part of the Criminal Code

shall apply to petty offences, due regard being had to the spirit and nature of the law (Art. 3. Par. 2).

Article 735- Petty Offences.

A person commits a petty offence when he infringes the mandatory or prohibitive provisions of a law or regulation issued by a competent authority or when he commits a minor offence which is not punishable under the Criminal Law, and such infringement or minor offence is subject to punishment under the provisions below (Arts. 746-775).

Article 736- Application as to Offence.

(1) In accordance with the principle of legality (Art. 2(1 to 4)), petty offences by the provisions of this Code or by a special provision are alone liable to punishment and the penalties applicable shall be those which are expressly prescribed in respect thereof.

Such provisions are enforceable only if the act does not fall under an express provision imposing a more severe penalty.

One and the same act cannot be punished both under the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Petty Offences (Art. 2(5)).

(2) Petty offences shall always be punished under the provisions in force at the time of their commission, and there shall be not retrospective effect as to their application (Art. 5).

Upon the coming into force of this Code, its provisions shall apply to all petty offences mentioned in the Special Part of this Code.

Article 737- Equality before the law.

The provisions relating to petty offences shall apply to all petty offenders alike without discrimination (Art. 4)

Article 738- Application as to Place.

(1) Petty offences shall be deemed to have been committed at the place where the offender acted or had the legal obligation to act (Art. 25).

They shall be governed as a rule by the principle of territoriality (Art. 11).

(2) Petty offences committed in Ethiopia shall always be tried in accordance with Ethiopian law when the petty offender is in Ethiopia. They shall give rise neither to delegation (Art. 12) nor to extradition (Art. 21).

(3) Petty offences committed in a foreign country by an Ethiopian or against an Ethiopian subject (Art. 18) shall not be punished in Ethiopia:

Petty offences committed in a foreign country by an Ethiopian enjoying immunity (Art. 14) shall not be punished in Ethiopia.

(4) Petty offences of a purely military character provided by Ethiopian military law (Art. 792) shall always be tried by the military authority and punished according to Ethiopian law whether they were committed in Ethiopia or in a foreign country.

If, however, the doer was already tried for the same act by a foreign Court a fresh penalty may be dispensed with.

Article 739- Foreign Sentences.

Convictions or sentences passed on petty offences by a foreign Court shall

not be taken into consideration for the assessment of sentence as regards

crimes or petty offences tried by Ethiopian Courts (Art. 22).