ARTICLE 12. Circumstances Which Exempt from Criminal Liability.

— The following are exempt from

criminal liability:

1. An imbecile or an insane person, unless the latter has acted during a lucid interval.

When the imbecile or an insane person has committed an act which the law defines as a felony
(delito), the court shall order his confinement in one of the hospitals or asylums established for
persons thus afflicted, which he shall not be permitted to leave without first obtaining the permission
of the same court.

2. A person under nine years of age.

3. A person over nine years of age and under fifteen, unless he has acted with discernment, in which
case, such minor shall be proceeded against in accordance with the provisions of article 80 of this
Code.

When such minor is adjudged to be criminally irresponsible, the court, in conformity with the
provisions of this and the preceding paragraph, shall commit him to the care and custody of his family
who shall be charged with his surveillance and education; otherwise, he shall be committed to the
care of some institution or person mentioned in said article 80.

4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere accident
without fault or intention of causing it.

5. Any person who acts under the compulsion of an irresistible force.

6. Any person who acts under the impulse of an uncontrollable fear of an equal or greater injury.

7. Any person who fails to perform an act required by law, when prevented by some lawful or
insuperable cause.

*in exempting circumstances, there is a crime committed but no criminal liability arises.
* imbecility distinguished from insanity
While the imbecile is exempt in all cases from criminal liability, the insane is not so if shown that he acted
during a lucid interval.
Imbecile- who in advanced age, has a mental development of children between 2 and 7 years of age
-in article 12 is one who is deprived completely of reason or discernment and freedom of the will at the
time of committing the crime.
*to constitute insanity there must be complete deprivation of intelligence of freedom of the will
*KLEPTOMANIA he must be proven to be acting without free will to consider exempting circumstances
*EPILEPSY can be covered in insanity
*AMNESIA is not proof of mental condition of the accused
OTHER CASES OF LACK OF INTELLIGENCE:
1. Committing a crime while in a dream is not criminally liable
2. Hypnotism
3. While suffering from malaria is not criminally liable
THE EXEMPTING CIRCUMSTANCES OF INSANITY OR IMBECILITY IS BASED ON THE COMPLETE ABSENCE OF
INTELLIGENCE, AN ELEMENT OF VOLUNTARINESS

R.A. No. 9344 – JUVENILE JUSTICE and WELFARE ACT

Sec. 6 – child 15 years of age or under at the time of commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal
liability. However, the child shall be subject to an intervention program under sec. 20 of the same law.

A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age shall likewise be exempt
from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with
discernment, in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in
accordance with this Act.

Sec. 20 - the authority which will have an initial contact with the child has the duty to immediately
release the child to the custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the absence thereof, the child’s
nearest relative. Said authority shall give notice to the local social welfare and development officer
who will determine the appropriate programs in consultation with the child and to the person having
custody over the child. If the parents, guardians or nearest relatives cannot be located, or if they
refuse to take custody, the child may be released to any of the following: a duly registered
nongovernmental or religious organization; a barangay official or a member of the Barangay Council
for the Protection of Children (BCPC); a local social welfare and development officer; or when and
where appropriate, the DSWD. 

PERIODS OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

1.Age of absolute irresponsibility – 15 years and below(infancy)

2.Age of conditional responsibility – 15 years and 1 day to 18 years
3.Age of full responsibility – 18 years to 70 years
4.Age of mitigated responsibility – 15 years and 1 day to 18 years; over 70 years of age
Senility is age over 70 said to be 2nd childhood, can only be mitigated responsibility

*A child in conflict with the law is below 18 years but not less than 15 years and one day old
Discernment- to distinguished right and wrong
Intent – desired act of the person

Discernment may be shown by

1.manner of committing crime
2.conduct of offender

Determination of age:
1.certified true copy of birth certificate
2.baptismal certificate, school records or any document that shows age
3.the testimony of of the child, member of the family by consanguinity

PARAGRAPH 3 IS ALSO BASED ON THE COMPLETE ABSENCE OF INTELLIGENCE

Par. 4. Any person who, while performing a lawful act with due care, causes an injury by mere
accident without fault or intention of causing it.

Elements:

1.a person is performing a lawful act

2.with due care
3.he causes and injury to another person by mere accident
4.without fault or intention of causing it

*striking another with a gun in self-defense, even if it fired and seriously injured the assailant is a
lawful act.

ACCIDENT – happenings outside our will

Accident and negligence are intrinsically contradictory

Paragraph 4 is based on lack of negligence and intent. Under this circumstance, a person does not
commit either an intentional felony or culpable felony

In phils insanity must be complete there must be total absence of intelligence

Must have prior records of insanity
Expert witness and testimonies needed