Рет қаралды 34,100
A video lecture for law students studying criminal law in England and Wales.
Self-defence can apply to the person, property and arrest or the prevention of crime. It is now covered by s. 76 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
The key question that must be asked is "Was the force used reasonable in the circumstances as the defendant supposed them to be?" This contains an objective test as regards the force being used and a subjective test as regards the context or circumstances.
The objective test requires us to look at both the nature of the force used, such as weapons, as well as the degree of force employed.
The subjective test has proved controversial in the light of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to life) but allows us to closely examine the particular characteristics of the defendant and how she would view the circumstances. These characteristics include psychological and physical factors as well as the relationship with the victim.
Self-defence is an interesting essay question in the light of the Tony Martin case and self-defence in the context of breaking into someone's home but is more common as part of a scenario or problem question where the student has to consider the full facts of the case and come to their own judgment in response to the objective and subjective tests.