Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2021)

Punishment for Seditious Acts and Seditious Libel

4.   Punishment for seditious acts and libels

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   (1)   Whoever does or attempts to do or conspires with any person to do any act with a seditious intention, and whoever utters any words having a seditious intention, on conviction on indictment, is liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $480 or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding 6 months and for a second or subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding $960 or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding one year.

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   (2)   Whoever publishes, sells, offers for sale, distributes or with a view to its being published, prints, writes, composes, makes, produces, imports or has in his or her possession, power or control any seditious publication, on conviction on indictment, is liable for a first offence to a fine not exceeding $480 or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding 6 months and for a second or subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding $960 or to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a term not exceeding one year.

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   (3)   A person shall not be convicted under this section—

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      (a)     with respect to a speech or publication which is seditious by reason only that it contains a false statement if he or she proves that he or she had good reason to believe and did in fact believe in good faith that the statement was true and could not by reasonable inquiry have ascertained its falsity; or

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      (b)     for selling, offering for sale, distributing, importing, or having in his or her possession, power or control, a seditious publication, if he or she proves that he or she did not know and had no reason to suspect that the publication was seditious, and that on ascertaining that it was seditious, he or she delivered such publication to a police officer as soon as possible.