Article 14 — Prescription and Extinction of Sanctions

1. 1.

   The limitation periods for prosecution, running from the date on which the offence was completed or, in the case of a continuing offence, from the date of the last act constituting the offence, are as follows:

   1. Minor offences: two (2) years.
   2. Serious offences: five (5) years.
   3. Grave offences: ten (10) years.
2. 2.

   No limitation period shall apply to:

   1. Offences involving slavery, trafficking, or forced labour.
   2. Offences involving sexual exploitation of children.
3. 3.

   Limitation is interrupted by the institution of formal proceedings. A new limitation period of the same duration begins to run from the date of such interruption.

4. 4.

   Sanctions are extinguished by:

   1. Completion, being the payment of a fine in full, the fulfilment of a community service order, or the expiry of a period of exclusion.
   2. Sovereign clemency, exercised in accordance with the prerogative recognised by Article 35(13) of the Fundamental Laws.
   3. Death of the convicted person.
5. 5.

   Rehabilitation shall operate as follows: after a period of five (5) years in respect of minor offences, or ten (10) years in respect of serious or grave offences, from the completion of the sanction, during which no further offence is committed, the conviction shall be spent for all purposes except national security vetting.

6. 6.

   The Sovereign may, by act of clemency, grant:

   1. A pardon, extinguishing the sanction in whole.
   2. A commutation, substituting a lesser sanction for that originally imposed.
   3. Rehabilitation before the expiry of the ordinary period prescribed by paragraph 5 of this Article.