This diploma thesis deals with the concept and legal implications of excessive self-defense (also private defense) and necessity (also distress). The two terms designate two circumstances precluding wrongfulness that the Czech Criminal Code recognizes. They have been intended to allow every person to defend himself and thus protect his rights against an attack or other forms of danger in case the state authority cannot provide for such protection. If the self-protection is executed within some acceptable boundaries that are provided by the Criminal Code, such behavior can be considered beneficial for the society and therefore nobody should be in any way punished for it. Criminal liability is only established when the given boundaries are crossed and even then there is a certain favored approach towards the perpetrator required. The intention of this diploma thesis is to address the connotations and importance of the given juridical institutes and to evaluate whether they function effectively or not, with eventual suggestions as to how to improve the result. After a short introduction the first part of the thesis deals with the concept of wrongfulness as one of the elements of a crime, and circumstances precluding the wrongfulness in general. In the end of the chapter there is a brief reflection on...

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Local Self-Defence Militias as Counterinsurgents The Possibility, Willingness and Rationality of Selective Violence against Insurgents Autor: Jakob J. Gilg Submitted: 31.07.2019 Abstract How do local self-defence militias (LSDMs) influence violence against civilians in civil conflicts? Compared to other types of pro-government militias (PGMs), LSDMs are active in their home area. This results in abundant local information that can be used to identify and target insurgents and their supporters selectively. Furthermore, LSDMs are part of the local community, resulting in strong social ties, making indiscriminate violence against the community less likely. Finally, since LSDMs are dependent on popular support and cannot move on to a new area after violent acts, they are incentivised to retain local support by abstaining from civilian targeting. Therefore, I hypothesise that LSDMs are more likely to employ selective violence, and that their deployment decreases civilian fatalities in civil conflicts. To empirically test this claim in a global sample, I use 1) a logistic regression to assess the likelihood of selective violence of PGMs (H1), and 2) a negative binomial regression to evaluate the expected number of civilians killed by the government (H2). The results for the first hypothesis suggest an increased...

This thesis concerns the topic of exceeding the limits of self-defence and necessity and related legal consequences. Although the concepts of self-defence and necessity exist also in other legal branches, this thesis is focused primarily on criminal law. The aim is to define the concept of excess of the limits of self-defence and necessity, including the individual types of excess, and to provide a comprehensive overview of both general and special legal consequences that can arise in case of an excess. Furthermore, this thesis strives to answer the question whether the current Criminal Code allows for all the specific circumstances of cases in which the defendant fulfils an offence definition while exceeding the limits of self-defence or necessity to be duly taken into account. First, this thesis deals generally with the topic of defences and the concept of self-defence and necessity and then analyses in detail the limits and conditions of these concepts as this matter is closely connected with the topic of excess. The crucial parts of the thesis are part three and four. The third part focuses on defining the concept of excess and its characteristics, analysing the fault element of an excess and describing the individual types of excess of self- defence and necessity limits. The fourth part deals...

This thesis examined the relationship between cyber operations and armed attacks to determine when the right of self-defence is triggered by cyber operations. The research question for this thesis was under what circumstances a cyber operation is considered a cyber attack and what kind of self-defence the targeted victim State can use.  The thesis concluded that it is not the weaponry used, but the scale and effects of an operation that determines whether it amounts to an armed attack or not. Thus, cyber operations can be amount to armed attacks i.e., cyber attacks if the scale and effects caused by the operations are severe enough. However, the thesis concluded that there are certain challenges regarding the determination of the severity threshold of operations through cyberspace that do not exist for operations of kinetic nature. Specifically regarding whether cyber operations that cause disruption of critical infrastructure can amount to a cyber attack. The thesis concluded that it is unclear whether these kinds of effects can be comparable to the effects caused by traditional military force. However, cyber operations that result in mere economic damages do not reach the scale and effects needed to amount to cyber attacks.  The thesis concluded that an imminent threat of a cyber attack triggers the right of self-defence. The meaning of imminence is ‘the last possible window of opportunity’ to repel the cyber attack, as this meaning coheres with the purpose of being able to resort to force in self-defence against an attack that has yet occurred.  The issue of responsibility of non-State actors was addressed in the thesis. The essay demonstrated that the questions regarding non-State actors are even more relevant for operations carried out in cyberspace. It was concluded that although the high threshold of attribution becomes even more challenging in cyberspace, the threshold is necessary in order to maintain international peace and security. Regarding independent non-State actors, it was concluded that State practice has shown acceptance of resorting to force against non-State actors without attribution to the territorial State. To balance opposed interests, this thesis concluded that the doctrine of unwilling and unable should be followed when a victim State considers resorting to force against a non-State actor.  Regarding the principles of necessity and proportionality, this thesis could conclude that the means used against a cyber attack, whether kinetic or cyber, are not vital to determine whether the self-defence used is legal or not. Instead, force used in self-defence used must be a means of last resort and cannot exceed the force needed to repel the attack.

This master thesis provides an analysis of the legality of preemptive self-defence under international law. In assessing the lawfulness of preemptive self-defence two basic sources of international law: customary and treaty law are examined. The analysis of the UN Charter rules showed that there is strong disagreement between scholars regarding the legality of anticipatory self-defence. However, the term “armed attack” in article 51 UN Charter should embrace imminent threats. Two basic reasons are: the advent of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and new methods of warfare; the inherent right of anticipatory self-defence was not exhausted after the adoption of the UN Charter. The examination of customary international law showed that the Caroline doctrine allows states to act in anticipation of an armed attack if the requirements of necessity and proportionality are fulfilled. In addition, the analysis of state practice and opinion juris prior and after September 11, 2001, revealed that anticipatory self-defence is not prohibited. The conclusion is maid that the right of anticipatory self-defence, if requirements of necessity and proportionality are fulfilled, is not illegal under international law. In contrast, the analysis of the UN Charter rules showed that preemptive self-defence against perceived threats is not legal under the UN Charter, because there is no actual armed attack or imminent threat against which state can legally defend itself. In addition, preemptive... [to full text] / Šioje magistro tezėje analizuojamas preventyviosios savigynos teisėtumo tarptautinėje teisėje klausimas. Du pagrindiniai tarptautinės teisės šaltiniai: sutarčių bei paprotinė tarptautinė teisė yra nagrinėjami siekiant išsiaiškinti, ar preventyvioji savigyna yra legali tarptautinė teisėje. Pirmoje darbo dalyje nagrinėjamas preventyviosios savigynos prieš neišvengiamas grėsmes (angl. anticipatory self-defence) legalumas dviejų pagrindinių tarptautinės teisės šaltinių atžvilgiu. Pagrindinė tarptautinė sutartis reguliuojanti karinės galios naudojimą yra Jungtinių Tautų (JT) Chartija. Nagrinėjant preventyviosios savigynos prieš neišvengiamas grėsmes legalumo JT Chartijos normų, reguliuojančių savigyną, atžvilgiu, buvo nustatyta, kad autoriai nesutaria dėl to, ar JT Chartija leidžia naudoti karinę galią prieš neišvengiamas grėsmes. Pagrindiniai mokslininkų nesutarimai kyla dėl JT Chartijos 51 straipsnio, kuris leidžia JT valstybėm narėm savigynos tikslais naudoti karinę galią, ginkluoto užpuolimo atveju, formuluotės. Iš esmės, nesutariama dėl dviejų frazių vartojamų JT Chartijos 51straipsnyje: „prigimtinė teisė“ bei „ginkluotas užpuolimas“ (angl. „the inherent right“, „armed attack“). Autorių susiskaidymas šiuo klausimu neleido nustatyti, ar preventyvioji savigyna prieš neišvengiamas grėsmes yra legali. Dėl to, buvo nagrinėjama, ar JT Chartijos 51 straipsnyje minima ginkluoto užpuolimo sąvoka apima neišvengiamas grėsmes ir tokiu būdu minėta tarptautinė sutartis leidžia... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

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UNIVERZITA KARLOVA V PRAZE Právnická fakulta Katedra trestního práva POJEM A PRÁVNÍ DŮSLEDKY PŘEKROČENÍ MEZÍ NUTNÉ OBRANY A KRAJNÍ NOUZE Diplomová práce Martin Lang Vedoucí diplomové práce: Doc. JUDr. Jiří Herczeg, Ph.D. Praha, prosinec 2010 2 Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto diplomovou práci vypracoval samostatně, všechny použité prameny a literatura byly řádně citovány a práce nebyla využita k získání jiného nebo stejného titulu. V Praze dne 13. prosince 2010 Martin Lang 3 Poděkování Děkuji panu Doc. JUDr. Jiří Herczegovi, Ph.D., vedoucímu mé diplomové práce, za připomínky a pomoc při jejím zpracování. 4 Obsah Obsah ...................................................................................................................................4 Úvod.....................................................................................................................................5 1. Okolnosti vylučující protiprávnost v českém právním řádu .................................7 1.1 Podstata nutné obrany a krajní nouze ............................................................................8 1.2 Ústavněprávní aspekty................................................................................................10 1.3 Správněprávní...

of my Master's degree thesis in English Lawful use of firearms The purpose of my paper is to draw attention to the lawful use of firearms in self- defence. The relation between the lawful use of firearms and self-defence is not explained sufficiently today. For example, it is not clear in what situations police officers have authority to act in self-defence and what their liability would be should they exceed the regulation of lawful use of firearms. The author offers possible solutions to this issue and describes their consequences. The paper is composed of three chapters. Introduction brings the reader into the issue. First chapter serves as an extension to the introductory part and defines basic terminology used in the paper such as defences, necessity, self-defence, dangerous offender, lawful use of firearms. Chapter Two deals with relevant international, constitutional and statutory legislation with a focus on the lawful use of firearms and its regulation. Chapter Three introduces basic knowledge from practice split into rulings and case studies. Author of this Master's degree thesis searched and chose the most relevant rulings with relation to the lawful use of firearms. Case studies include two cases of lawful use of firearms by the Police to which the author had access. Chapter Four looks...

Title: The basic aspects of self-defence Objectives: The principal aim of this thesis is describe the basic aspects of self-defence, like criminological factors, phases of conflict, expression of stress and the legal problems of self-defence. Methods: Application, processing and interpretation of informations from scholarly publications. Results: The result of this thesis is summary of individual aspects of self-defence in common civil life. Keywords: self-defence, conflict, circumstances excluded lawlessnes