Lecture 20 - self defence

Question 1

what are the two defences by law for self defence

Answer 1

private defence - section 76 criminal justice and immigration act
public defence - section 3 criminal law act 1967

Question 2

who and what may you defend ?

Answer 2

another person - common law right to preserve and restore the peace as shown in r v duffy 1967
to prevent property being unlawfully taken - r v williams
to prevent crime - either an attack on another person/theft/criminal damage of property r v morris 2014
yourself

Question 3

what was the significance of the r v yaman case

Answer 3

it gave us a two stage approach
1- is it necessary to use force in the circumstances as d believes honestly believes them to be
2 - was the actual force used reasonable i.e proportionate

Question 4

what is the test used for the first part of the yaman test

Answer 4

it is predominantly a subjective test and honest but unreasonable mistakes are allowed

Question 5

what is the significance of r v mcinnes

Answer 5

states that there is no duty to retreat before acting in self defence

Question 6

what is the rule for householder self defence

Answer 6

under s43 crime and court act 2013 the degree of force used by the householder is not to be regarded as having been reasonable in the circumstances as the householder believed them to be if it was grossly disproportionate