Paper Currency

"Safe, therefore, remaining the principle that, as far as regards the application of punishment, the crimes in question must be considered complete as soon as all the ingredients concur which are required by their definition, it must be agreed that the provision of article 271 makes an exception to this principle so far as regards the impunity of the offender who voluntarily comes forward to disclose them; and that, in consequence, such disclosure avails him provided always he makes it before each of the said crimes is fully completed by the achievement of the purpose at which the offender aimed in committing them. It will, therefore, avail the forger if he discloses before uttering any of the coins counterfeited or altered. It will avail the importer of false coin, if he discloses before putting any of them into circulation. It will, in fine, avail the person making the dies or other instruments exclusively intended for coining, if he discloses before falsifying the coin, and even after he has made such falsification but before putting it off in which precisely consists of the stage at which he will have reached his intent. It may appear, one must admit, that this interpretation hardly fits the letter of the law: but it undoubtedly corresponds to its spirit, and it is the only interpretation calculated to make that the prevision of the law will not be useless. Moreover, this is not a case of restrictive provision in which no arguments for extending its purport would avail: it is a case of an indulgence or benefit which the law gives and this consideration contributes still more to make our interpretation acceptable in all its extent, or at least, to make us hope that in any amendment of the laws in force the opportunity will be taken of so rewording the said article 271 as to leave no room for doubt or ambiguity as to its meaning in the sense we have given to it"266 .

The corresponding provision of the Italian Code of 1889 (article 332) was clear in the sense of the view propounded by Roberti: it exempted from punishment the person guilty of falsifying coin before the completion of the crime, or even only before any uttering of false coin was made, gave information to the authorities. Article 262 of the Italian Code of 1889 gives impunity to the person guilty of any coinage offences if he succeeds, before the authorities have notice of the offence, in preventing the counterfeiting, the altering, or the putting off of the counterfeit or altered coin.

Paper Currency

266 Op. cit., Vol. VI, pp. 242-244, para. 927-928

The provisions of the Criminal Code we have above considered deal only with metal coins; paper currency is covered by three Ordinances now in force.

The Treasury Notes Ordinance (Ord. V of 1915, Cap. 66 of the Revised Edition)

The Bank of England Notes Ordinance (Ord. I of 1929, Cap. 100)

The Currency Notes Ordinance (Ord. I of 1949).

The first two Ordinances concern paper currency issued in the United Kingdom and made current in these Islands, the third Ordinance concerns paper currency issued locally. The Treasury Notes Ordinance and the Paper Currency Ordinance provide that the notes mentioned or issued under those Ordinances respectively shall for the purpose of the Criminal Code, be deemed to be gold coins legally current in the Islands. The Bank of England Notes Ordinance likewise provides that the notes therein mentioned shall to all intents and purposes of the Criminal Code be deemed to be coins within the meaning of Section 164 and to be gold coins within the meaning of the offence under Section 171, and both Ordinances lay down that the punishments prescribed in the said Code in respect of coinage offences shall be applied with an increase of from two to three degrees to those offences when committed in respect of the notes mentioned in those Ordinances respectively: Provided that such increase shall be of one degree only where the forgery is easily perceptible.

The proviso requires some explanation. A similar provision existed in the Italian Code of 1889. Article 259 laid down:

"Le pene stabilite negli articoli precedenti sono diminuite da un sesto ad un terzo, se la falsità sia facilmenate riconoscibile".

It may appear that this provision Contradicts the statement we have made in dealing with the coinage offences under the Criminal Code, that in order that the complete offence of counterfeiting or altering may subsist, it is necessary (at any rate, according to continental doctrine) that the false money be fit to be uttered (’spendibile') or, in other words, that it be likely to deceive by passing for or being accepted as genuine. It may appear that in respect of paper currency, in view of this provision Of the said Ordinances, the said ingredient is not necessary so much so that a punishment is imposed even if the falsity be easily perceptible.

But, according to the commentators of the Italian Code, such a provision, rather than showing that the said requirement is not necessary, confirms that necessity. The said provision was clearly inserted to reduce the cases of impunity. Without it, magistrates and juries would feel inclined to acquit whenever the falsity was easily observable. By reason of it the cases of impunity are reduced to those only in which the falsification is so gross and clumsy that it is evident to any one at first sight, and Courts are enabled to award a punishment, even if reduced, in those cases in which the falsification is not so perfect or cleverly done as to require an extraordinary attention to detect but such as to be detected by average and ordinary observation267. Professor Lombardi says:

"In sostanza, fermo restando il criterio essenziale della spendibilità come estremo necessario del falso nummario, in modo che debba escludeisi il delitto se la falsità sia riconoscibile a prima vista e al un semplice sguardo; quando vi sia un minimum di e' all'inganno del pubblico e la falsità sia tale da apparire anche all'usuale e ordinaria osservazione si ha l’attenuante ò ell'articolo 259"268 .

The Bank of England Notes Ordinance above mentioned provided that in any proceedings for forgery of the notes referred to in the Ordinance, the sworn statement of the Treasurer or other person or persons authorised by the Government in that behalf, that a note is counterfeit shall be sufficient evidence of the forgery thereof. And the said Treasury Notes Ordinance likewise provides that in any proceedings for an offence thereunder the sworn statement of the Treasurer or other person or persons authorised by the Government in that behalf that a note is false shall be 'prima facie' evidence of the forgery: provided that the provisions of the Criminal Code relating to cross-examination of witnesses shall apply to the evidence of the Treasurer or OTHER person or persons making any such sworn statement.

The Currency Notes Ordinance, 1949, requires a somewhat more detailed treatment. This Ordinance provides for currency notes of Malta upon a permanent basis. Currency notes issued thereunder are legal tender for the payment of any amount, except, that currency notes of a denomination less than ten shillings are not legal tender for the payment of an amount exceeding forty shillings (Section 5). Paper currency or notes issued under the Paper Currency Ordinance, 1939 (Ordinance

267 Cfr. Maino, op, cit., art. 259, para. 1275 268 Op. cit., p. 35