Necessary defense as a circumstance precluding the criminality of an act

Authors: Adamenko K.T., Molotkova M.V.
Published in issue: #7(60)/2021
DOI: 10.18698/2541-8009-2021-7-717
Category: Jurisprudence | Chapter: Criminal Law and Criminology
Keywords: necessary defense, conditions for the legitimacy of defense, exceeding the limits, extreme necessity, protection, harm, punishment, attacker
Published: 03.08.2021

The article is devoted to pressing issues related to necessary defense, namely its essence, content, conditions of legality, exceeding the limits. The relevance of the topic is due to the annual increase in the number of crimes, one way or another related to the necessary defense. Unfortunately, in criminal practice, cases have become more frequent when a defender does not know the limits of necessary defense, the conditions for its legitimacy, which leads to adverse consequences, for example, the death of the encroaching person. Also, a person may mistakenly assume the existence of an encroachment and commit a socially dangerous act in a state of imaginary defense with the corresponding criminal consequences. For a complete understanding of the features of necessary defense, other circumstances were considered that exclude the criminality of an act, in the context of reflecting common and distinctive features.

References

[1] Konstitutsiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii (prinyata 12.12.1993 s izm. ot 01.07.2020) [Constitution of the Russian Federation (passed 12.12.1993 as am. of 01.07.2020)] (in Russ.).

[2] Tikhanova N.E. Conditions legitimacy of necessary defense from actions dangerous to life. Izvestiya TulGU. Ekonomicheskie i yuridicheskie nauki [News of the Tula state university. Economic and legal sciences], 2016, no. 2-2, pp. 199–203 (in Russ.).

[3] Ugolovnyy kodeks RF ot 13.06.1996 N 63-FZ (red. ot 30.12.2020) [The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 13.06.1996 no. 63-FZ (ed. of. 30.12.2020)] (in Russ.).

[4] Amelina K.E., Kovaleva M.A., Tikhanova N.E. Pravovedenie [Legal science]. Moscow, Bauman MSTU Publ., 2019 (in Russ.).

[5] Postanovlenie Plenuma Verkhovnogo Suda RF ot 27.09.2012 N 19 “O primenenii sudami zakonodatel’stva o neobkhodimoy oborone i prichinenii vreda pri zaderzhanii litsa, sovershivshego prestuplenie” [Resolution of RF Supreme Court plenum of 27.09.2012 no. 19 “On applying in courts a law on justifiable defense and no-harm at detention of a perpetrator”] (in Russ.).

[6] Tikhanova N.E. Problems of use of weapons in the defense. Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Pravo [Proceedings of Voronezh State University. Series: Pravo], 2018, no. 1, pp. 186–190 (in Russ.).

[7] Furman A.V. Necessary defense as a circumstance excluding criminality of act: the concept of conditions of legality, application of. Postulat, 2017, no. 11. URL: http://e-postulat.ru/index.php/Postulat/article/view/891 (in Russ.).

[8] Skrobot A. Ponyatie neobkhodimoy oborony nikto ne otmenyaet [Elektronnyy resurs]. URL: https://www.ng.ru/events/2002-02-15/8_concept.html (data obrashcheniya 24.02.2021).

[9] Bastrykin A.E., ed. Ugolovnoe pravo Rossii. Prakticheskiy kurs [Criminal law of the Russian Federation. Practical course]. Moscow, VoltersKluver Publ., 2007 (in Russ.).