Warren Brookbanks “Case Note: Unpacking The Elements Of Infanticide – A Canadian Approach: R v Borowiec” [2016] NZ CLR 92

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTION The law of infanticide has been described as “a particularly dark corner of the criminal law”.¹ This description relates not so much to the nefarious character of the offence as to the hidden nature of the doctrine, which is seldom litigated. The recent decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Borowiec² provides a useful window into the law governing infanticide which, in the common law jurisdictions in which it exists, provides both a discrete offence and a partial defence to women who kill their infant children while suffering from the effects of childbirth. The decision provides a valuable account of the origins and legislative purpose of the infanticide doctrine as it has developed within Canadian law which has close parallels to infanticide as it has emerged within New Zealand criminal law.