The Penal Code (Cap. 10.20, Revised Edition 2022) establishes a legal framework governing criminal liability, offences, and penalties in Tuvalu. It sets out general principles including interpretation, territorial application, and rules of criminal responsibility such as intention, mistake, insanity, and defences, alongside provisions on parties to offences and sentencing regimes. The Code classifies offences across a wide range of areas, including public order, administration of justice, corruption, offences against the person, property crimes, and moral offences. It further provides rules on punishments, judicial procedures, and ancillary matters, forming the principal codification of criminal law in the jurisdiction. The Code criminalises acts affecting food safety and public health, including adulteration and sale of noxious food and drink, pollution of watercourses and air, and negligent acts likely to spread infectious diseases. The Code further protects agricultural resources and rural assets through offences such as theft of cattle, crops, fish and other agricultural products, as well as damage to plants, land and productive assets, including arson targeting crops and cultivated produce. Additional provisions address risks to livestock health and natural resources, including the communication of infectious diseases to animals and the protection of boundaries, land, and fisheries.
Tuvalu · 1965-10-18