Legal Requisites and Principles of Self-Defense

Legal Foundation and Definition of Self-Defense

• Self-defense is recognized as a justifying circumstance in legal proceedings.
• It is defined as an act where an individual repels unlawful aggression according to specific legal requirements.
• The legal basis for self-defense is established under the Penal Code Article $11$, Section $1$.
• For an action to be legally classified as self-defense, it must strictly adhere to the requisites provided by law.

The Three Essential Requisites of Self-Defense

To successfully invoke the justifying circumstance of self-defense, three specific elements must be present:

• Unlawful Aggression: There must be unlawful aggression originating from the victim against the person defending themselves.
• Reasonable Necessity of Means: There must be a reasonable necessity in the means employed by the defender to either prevent or repel the aforementioned unlawful aggression.
• Lack of Sufficient Provocation: There must be a lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person who is resorting to the act of self-defense.

Admission of Harm and Criminal Liability

• When a person invokes self-defense or the defense of a relative, they are essentially admitting to having inflicted harm upon another individual.
• This admission identifies the act as a potential criminal offense under Title $8$, categorized as Crimes Against Person or Vice Penal Code.
• The defensive contention of the accused is that while they may have inflicted harm, they did so without incurring criminal liability.
• The legal justification is that the infliction of protective harm against an erstwhile aggressor was necessitated by a looming danger facing the individual or their relative.

Judicial Standards and Evidence Requirements

• Self-defense cannot be justifiably appreciated by the court if it is uncorroborated by independent and competent evidence.
• If the claim of self-defense is found to be extremely doubtful by itself, it will not be upheld.
• In the case of Velasquez versus people, Juror number $195021$, March $1737$, Parleonim NGA, the court emphasizes the strict standards for this justification.
• When self-defense is invoked, the burden of evidence undergoes a shift from the prosecution to the defense.
• The accused who claims self-defense must rely entirely on the strength of their own evidence to prove the justification.
• The defense cannot rely on the weakness of the prosecution's evidence to secure an acquittal, as established in Belvis Jr. Versus Brucales Sutra.