SelfDefenceTips

Introduction: In the United kingdom and many other countries, the right of self defence (also known as alter ego defence) is the right for civilians acting on their own behalf to engage in actions for the sake of defending one's own lives or the lives of others In English Criminal law, the defence of self defence provides for the right of people to act in a manner that will be otherwise unlawful in order to preserve the physical integrity of themselves or others or to prevent any crime. In the UK, the courts have upheld the rights of individuals to protect themselves or other people and have said that they are permitted to use force or violence to do so as long as the amount of force used is reasonable. Self defence in English law is a complete defence to all levels of assault. Public perception of self defence: There has been a confusion about what is permitted under the law when an individual is acting in self defence. Some school of thought believes that the law gives more protection to criminals than to honest citizens acting to protect themselves, there is also a general belief that citizens in the USA are in much stronger position. Nevertheless the law in UK is very clear: An individual is entitled to protect themselves and or others with the use of reasonable force They may use violence or weapons to do so The level of violence may include killing the assailant as reflected in the statutory provisions section 3(1) and 3(2) of the criminal law act of 1967. It is clearly stated here that a defendant is entitled to protect himself and or others for whom he is responsible, and his property. "It must be reasonable" what then is reasonable? If an individual is prosecuted after having acted or having claimed to act in self defence, the courts will apply the following test. "Was the force used by the individual reasonable in the circumstances" There can be diverse views or opinion on what is reasonable force, but one thing is certain, the defendant doesn't have the right to decide how much force is reasonable, it is left for the jury to decide, and this decision is made case by case basis depending on the circumstances. The reason is because the defendant would always believe that he or she was acting reasonably and would never be guilty of any crime. It is important to note here that an individual may take preemptive strike if they believe there is a threat of imminent violence if they do not act first. The law of self defence can also excuse an assault or death when the individual is wrong in their belief that they had to act in the way they did when there was never any real danger. Conclusion/Recommendation: Self defense was universally regarded as the primary law of nature, so fundamental that England's great jurist insisted, "It
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is not, neither can it be in fact, taken away by the law of society." The law as it stands now offers very wide protection to those individuals that use violence to protect themselves and others, such is the protection that an act which could otherwise have constituted a very serious offence becomes lawful In order to prevent abuse and ensure the protection of human rights by preventing small arms violence, Governments shall enact licensing requirements to prevent possession of arms by persons who are at risk of misusing them, this is already being implemented in the UK. Developing countries like Nigeria are also begining to implement this, Possession of small arms shall be authorised for specific purposes only; small arms shall be used strictly for the purpose of which they are authorized, before issuing license, government shall require training in proper use of small arms, and shall take into consideration, factors such as age, mental fitness, prior criminal record, previous job performance and acts of domestic violence. My weblog about self defence tips and self defence moves.

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