Article 84: Instigating another to commit an offence

Firm annotation

Section 84, in Book 1 within the Title on Principals and Supporters, defines and grades the instigator, the person who sets another in motion to commit an offence. The means are drawn broadly, from employing, compelling and threatening to hiring, requesting, inciting, or any other method, so the essence is causing another's criminal act rather than the particular form of pressure. Liability is graded in three steps. If the offence is not committed at all, whether the person instigated refuses, has not yet acted, or for any other reason, the instigator faces only one third of the penalty. If the person instigated actually commits the offence, the instigator is punished as a principal, the same as under section 83. And where the person instigated is not over eighteen years of age, is a disabled or infirm person, is an employee or subordinate of the instigator, is in poor circumstances, or is dependent on the instigator by reason of illness or in any other way, the punishment imposed on the instigator is increased by one half of what the court fixes for that instigator, so exploiting a vulnerable or dependent person is an aggravation built into the section itself. It sits alongside section 85 (public advertisement to commit an offence) and section 86 (supporting), and is read together with section 87 where the person instigated goes beyond the scope of the instigation.