What is self defense?
When we talk about legitimate defense, we are faced with a conflict of rights between the aggressor, who acts illegally, and the victim, who reacts violently to the attack on his or her property or that of a third party. It is due to the unfair nature of the aggressor’s actions that the State justifies the conduct of the victim, who ultimately does nothing more than defend himself and not tolerate injustice.
What criteria are used to determine if a person acted in legitimate defense or not?
We must focus on the character of the response to the attack suffered, since it must be necessary, there being proportionality between the defense exercised and the evil that is tried to be avoided. Let’s think that if this is negligible in relation to the damage caused when defending oneself, we cannot speak of self-defense, perhaps if it is excessive.
In addition to this need, the aggression must be illegitimate, creating an immediate danger and there must not be a sufficient provocation on the part of the defendant, that is, it must not be the one who would have generated the illegitimate aggression or a reaction to such provocation.
What is your opinion of the bill that seeks to expand the cases of legitimate defense and reduce the penalties for those who exercise it?
I did not have the opportunity to read the projects, although I did hear the occasional proposal in which there was much confusion about the true scope and purposes of self-defense. In particular, I do not believe that the issue of punishment is relevant, but it will be useful to reduce discretion when determining the rationality of the means used to repel the illegitimate aggression.
What social and political impact does the debate on legitimate defense have in Argentina?
Generally, this type of debate divides society, which has become fed up due to the numerous acts of insecurity, either because they have lived through it or because of those who fear being victims, but we must take into account that many times those who promote it, in particular From political positions, they hide strong-arm ideologies that use the figure of self-defense as a legitimization of revenge and justice into their own hands, but not for the purpose that it has.
What advice would you give to a person who is involved in a self-defense case?
In these cases, I always advise declaring in the case in order to provide details about how and where the attack suffered took place, the use of weapons by the aggressor or the well-founded fear that one would be used, in addition to referring what was the property that was in danger from the attack. This will provide clarity in relation to how the events occurred and will procedurally favor those who defended their rights.
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by CEDOC
