Self-defence in Polish Criminal Law (Basic Problems)

Abstract

The  article  presents  the  basic  theoretical  and  practical  problems  referring  to  self-defence  as  a circumstance  excluding  illegality  of  an  act  in  Polish  criminal  law.  The  features  of  self-defence  have  been  presented  against  the  background  of  the  general  theory  of  circumstances  excluding  illegality,  of  which  self-defence  is  one  of  the  most  notable  instances,  as  well  as  the  interpretation  problems  connected  with  it.  The  basic  conditions  of  self-defence  have  been  discussed,  such  as:  the  attack,  the  repelling  of  it,  the  necessity  of  the  defence  and  its  compatibility  with  the  danger  of  the  attack.  The  issue  of  the  independence  of  self-defence  has  been  referred  to  in  detail.  Separate  remarks  have  been  devoted  to  the  features  of  the  attack  which  has  to  be  illegal,  direct  and  real,  as  well  as  to  the  problem  of  exceeding  the  borders  of  self-defence,  including  intensive  excess  and  extensive  excess,  the  exceeding  of  the  borders  of  self-defence  as  a result  of  fear  or  nervousness  justified  by  the circumstances  of  the  attack  and  the  institution  of  the  so  called  intervention  self-defence  which  is  new  for  the  Polish  legal  system.  The  issue  of  the  acts  of  a person  who  mistakenly  believes  that  a circumstance  excluding  their  illegality  occurs  has  also  been  mentioned.  Up-to-date  literature  and  the  court  rulings  have  been  extensively  used.