The necessary defense and extreme need in our country relate to those circumstances that completely exclude any crime of deed. In turn, these acts mean those targeted actions that are aimed at eliminating a real threat that could harm the legal relationship protected by law.
The necessary defense is the absolutely legitimate defense by a person of his interests and rights, as well as the rights and interests of society, the state or other persons from dangerous encroachment by causing harm to the person who is the source of the threat. The limits of necessary defense cannot be violated.
Necessary defense and conditions for its legitimacy
The assault must be:
- socially dangerous. In this case, we mean that it should in fact be capable of harming a person, state, society, and so on;
- in cash. The necessary defense can be applied only when the encroachment is obvious (started);
- effective. The necessary defense is applied only against attacks that exist in objective reality, and not in the consciousness of the defender.
In the event that one person harmed another person, taking the imaginary threat as obvious, the actions are considered as causing harm by negligence.
Regarding protection:
- a person can protect not only his interests, but also the interests of other persons, the state, society;
- necessary defense means harm only to the attacker. Third parties must not be harmed;
- only timely protection is possible;
- necessary defense has its limits. Their violation is unacceptable.
In this case, excess means intentional acts that do not correspond to the degree of danger of a particular assault and its nature. The excess does not include actions that a person committed due to an unexpected attack, the degree of danger, as well as the nature of which could not be determined.
Urgent need
As well as the necessary defense, it refers to circumstances that exclude the criminal act.
Extreme necessity is understood as a special condition in which a person causes harm to those interests and rights that are protected by criminal law in order to prevent a real danger .
The conditions under which an emergency act is legitimate can be divided into those that relate to real danger and those that relate to protection from it.
Hazardous conditions:
- sources of danger include natural disasters, dangerous behavior of animals or even people, illness, damage to vehicles and mechanisms, and so on. The list in this case is quite wide;
- danger must directly threaten objects - that is, be cash;
- it must be valid;
- an act of extreme necessity can be committed only if there is no other obvious way to eliminate the danger.
Hazard protection must always meet the requirements of:
- protection must necessarily have a clear goal - that is, it must be used to prevent even more unpleasant consequences;
- protection can only be timely;
- the limits of emergency must not be exceeded.
Exceeding such limits also recognizes harm that does not correspond to the nature, as well as the degree of the threat.
Extreme need, as well as necessary defense, exclude criminal acts. This primarily means that criminal liability will only occur if it is proved that the harm was intentional.