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The common law defence of self-defence applies where the defendant uses necessary, reasonable and proportionate force to defend themselves or another from imminent attack. It is a complete defence to all non-sexual offences involving the unlawful use of force (anything from battery to murder).
The right of self-defense (also called, when it applies to the defense of another, alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for people to use reasonable or defensive force, for the purpose of defending one's own life (self-defense) or the lives of others, including, in certain circumstances, the use of ...
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. [1] The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many jurisdictions. [2]
There is concern that individuals may face legal proceedings if they use force against an assailant and in so doing cause injury (or death) to that assailant. The law relating to self defence is extremely complex and these pages aim to provide a comprehensive insight into the subject.
- Introduction
- Reasonable Force
- A Duty to Retreat?
- Imminence of The
- Defence of Property
- Mistake as to Self-Defence
- Intoxication and Self-Defence
At common law the defence of self-defence operates in three spheres. It allows a person to use reasonable force to: In addition, s3(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 provides that: Both the common law and statutory defences can be raised in respect of any crime with which the defendant is charged, and if successful will result in the defendant being ...
The general principle is that the law allows only reasonable force to be used in the circumstances and, what is reasonable is to be judged in the light of the circumstances as the accused believed them to be (whether reasonably or not). In assessing whether a defendant had used only reasonable force, Lord Morris in Palmer v R[1971] AC 814, felt tha...
There is no rule of law that a person attacked is bound to run away if he can. A demonstration by the defendant that at the time he did not want to fight is no doubt, the best evidence that he was acting reasonably and in good faith in self-defence; but it is no more than that. A person may in some circumstances act without temporising, disengaging...
THREATENED ATTACK It is not absolutely necessary that the defendant be attacked first. As Lord Griffith said in Beckford v R[1988] AC 130: “A man about to be attacked does not have to wait for his assailant to strike the first blow or fire the first shot; circumstances may justify a pre-emptive strike.”
It can rarely, if ever, be reasonable to use deadly force for the protection of property. Would it have been reasonable to kill even one of the Great Train Robbers to prevent them from getting away with their millions of pounds of loot, or to kill a man about to destroy a priceless old master? – even assuming that no means short of killing could pr...
It is possible that a defendant might mistakenly believe himself to be threatened or might mistakenly believe that an offence is being committed by another person. On the basis of R v Williams (Gladstone) (1984) 78 Cr App R 276 and Beckford v R[1988] AC 130, it would appear that such a defendant would be entitled to be judged on the facts as he hon...
One effect of alcohol can be to lead the drinker to interpret the words and actions of others as threatening, thereby increasing “defensive activity” (Clarkson and Keating, Criminal Law, 1994, p402). In other words, a drunken person may act violently, mistakenly believing himself to be under attack. What is the position where such a person makes a ...
The essence of self-defence is self-help: under certain conditions set by international law, a State acting unilaterally – perhaps in association with other countries – may respond with lawful force to unlawful force (or, according to some, to the imminent threat of unlawful force).
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This chapter discusses the interaction between (the law of) self-defence and the rules of engagement (ROE), and how they play out against the military, and subsequently the political objectives of governments. It analyses the various forms of self-defence, from a national to individual perspective, including unit self-defence and force ...
