Killing in Self-Defence

This book provides a comprehensive and intriguing analysis of the criminal defense of self-defense from a philosophical, legal and human rights perspective. Although not always recognized as such, the legality of self-defense is often contentious, as it permits the victim of an attack to preserve his or her life at the expense of another, and as such, it often poses a challenge to attorneys to prove why an aggressor is, for reasons of age or insanity, for example, not responsible for his or her actions. Killing in Self-Defence identifies the proper theoretical basis of the claim of self-defense. It examines the classification of defenses, the concepts of justification, and excuse, and considers the nuanced differences between self-defense and the closely related defenses of duress and necessity. It also critically analyzes the differing philosophical explanations of why self-defensive killing is justified from a human rights perspective, and is the first comprehensive analysis of the law of self-defense across the major common law jurisdictions.

Fiona Leverick is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Aberdeen