It turns out that some legal terms are not quite correctly interpreted by the public. The concept of "excess self-defense" is shrouded in myths and legends. People believe that the law prohibits defending oneself from criminals. If you counteract them, you will be imprisoned. To understand, we need more than one article of the Criminal Code. The excess of self-defense is described in a number of documents. Let's try to figure it out.
We open the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Article 37 speaks of countering criminals. It describes the actions of a person who will not be prosecuted. These include causing harm to a person from whom there was an immediate threat to life and health. That is, if you were attacked by a bandit with a knife, then the injury will not qualify as an excess of self-defense. There remains only one small nuance: how to prove that the threat really was, and did not appear. Such circumstances are explained in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of September 27, 12, No. 19.
The immediate threat in the document refers to situations in which the victim of the attack has already been seriously injured, the attacker had weapons that could damage his life and health. That is, if a person just with fists climbed at you, he should be careful to answer so as not to cripple much. Otherwise, the court will decide that there has been an excess of self-defense. However, if threats are voiced against a person, circumstances are interpreted differently. The intention to kill, expressed verbally, is considered a mortal danger. It is important that witnesses of the incident also hear it.
Is it possible to protect another person?
Many people think that since the concept of “excess of self-defense” appears in legislation, it refers only to an immediate personal threat. This is actually not the case. These articles contain the phrase “defending or another person”, that is, they relate to cases when you have to defend another person. It is important to correctly assess the situation and calculate your strength. If an attacker, for example, wields a knife, brandishes a pistol, directs a gun at a potential victim, accompanying his actions with threats, then any actions will not be excessive.
However, when a weapon is taken from the offender, it is already unlawful to harm him. That is, you should clearly separate the real threat and fear. In court, they consider the situation literally in seconds. The defense is only valid until the moment when the offender still has the potential to seriously harm the victim. Once it is lost, protection must be stopped. Otherwise, any damage will be regarded not as self-defense, but as a real crime.
Responsibility
The defender, who failed to correctly distribute forces and assess the situation, will be judged. Moreover, how severe the damage to the offender depends on which article of the Criminal Code will be applied. So, for 108 they consider a murder committed in conditions when an excess of self-defense occurred. Article 114 speaks of causing grave and moderate harm. Both points of the law regulate the prosecution of persons who unsuccessfully tried to prevent a crime. Such actions are also considered an excess of self-defense.
Experienced lawyers recommend referring that they were in a state of affect (severe fright) and could not assess the situation. However, evidence of such circumstances requires serious work.
Dangerous jokes
Sometimes the concept of "excess of self-defense" arises when considering cases of erroneous harm. That is, a person was not able to correctly assess the situation and took the rally as a danger. In fact, the attacker had no criminal intentions, he joked. Here it is necessary to prove that the “victim” perceived the threat as real, therefore reacted in accordance with the situation. The ruling recommends that the court distinguish between the state of real and imaginary defense in favor of the accused, who had no reason not to believe the threats.