Which Criminal Code to buy for the NCA Criminal Law exam
Bring a hard copy of the most up-to-date Criminal Code; the August 2026 syllabus highly recommends an annotated edition and leaves the choice of publisher to you.
What the syllabus says:
- Bring the most up-to-date Criminal Code. An annotated Code is highly recommended.
- You must have a hard copy with you at the exam.
- The editions most used are Martin's (Canada Law Book), the Practitioner's edition (LexisNexis) and Tremeear's (Thomson Carswell).
- The published annotated editions include the Charter in an appendix.
Why it matters: the syllabus says you're expected to analyse any offence put to you, including ones not in the readings. You'll need to find its elements quickly, which makes the Code a working tool in the exam, not a backup. Is a new edition worth it over last year's? The syllabus asks for the most up-to-date Code, and it notes recent Code additions on remedies for delay and on departing from mandatory minimum sentences.
For studying, the Code is free on Justice Laws. The syllabus's publisher list also mentions an NCA discount code from Thomson Reuters.
How did you tab your Code? Share what worked: definitions in s 2, the Parts you used most, how you marked offences.