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Adam Guest | 18 January 2019

Can You Be Criminally Charged for Acting in Self Defence?

"If the person who committed the offence believed their actions were necessary, or if the jury has reasonable doubt about the matter, then an acquittal will likely result."

You can be acquitted of an offence it was committed whilst acting in self-defence. To be successful of this defence, the action must be a reasonable response to the threat at hand.

Our criminal lawyers in Brisbane explain more about what the law says in Queensland.

Instances Where You Cannot Be Criminally Charged

While serious cases of self-defence can be extremely complex, the Criminal Code 1899 outlines certain circumstances where you may not be criminally responsible for an offence when acting in self-defence. It states that a person is not criminally responsible for an offence if he or she believes the self-defence is necessary:
  • to defend himself or herself or another person; or
  • to prevent or terminate the unlawful imprisonment of himself or herself or another person; or
  • to protect property from unlawful appropriation, destruction, damage or interference; or
  • to prevent criminal trespass to any land or premises; or
  • to remove from any land or premises a person who is committing criminal trespass; or
  • the conduct is a reasonable response in the circumstances as he or she perceives them.

 

Instances Where You Can Be Criminally Charged

The Criminal Code 1899 also states that the above self-defence laws do not apply if a person uses force great enough to result in the intentional death or infliction of serious injury:
  • to protect property; or
  • to prevent criminal trespass; or
  • to remove a person who is committing criminal trespass.
Further, self-defence laws do not apply if the person is responding to lawful conduct and he or she knew that the conduct was lawful.

 

Defence of Others

While the term ‘self-defence’ suggests that it only covers those defending themselves, self-defence laws usually extend to the defence of other people. The Criminal Code 1899 states that, ‘in any case in which it is lawful for any person to use force of any degree for the purpose of defending himself or herself against an assault, it is lawful for any other person acting in good faith in the first person’s aid to use a like degree of force for the purpose of defending the first person.’

In simplified terms, the above section means that if the person you were defending had lawful grounds for self-defence, you do too. As long as you reacted with reasonable force to defend the other person.

 

Defence of Property

Self-defence laws can apply to the protection of property, as long as the force used was not great enough to result in death or serious injury. If a reasonable amount of force was used, self-defence laws apply to the protection of property from unlawful appropriation, destruction, damage or interference, and to prevent criminal trespass.

 

Criminal Lawyers for Self-Defence Cases

If you have further questions about a self-defence case, our experienced criminal lawyers in Brisbane at Guest offer free initial consultations (including in prisons). Please get in touch with our lawyers either via Guest Lawyers’ email or by calling (07) 3211 3007.

Guest Lawyers act for all persons charged with criminal offences who are required to appear before the Magistrates and Supreme Court. We also conduct appeals in the Court of Appeal and High Court. In addition to representing people all over Queensland, we often travel to other states and territories. Our criminal lawyers in Brisbane are admitted to practice all over Australia.