Streetwise: The CompleteManual of Personal Security & Self Defence by Peter Consterdine

Author:Peter Consterdine [Consterdine, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Protection Publications
Published: 2012-02-12T16:00:00+00:00

C H A P T E R T E N

Self Defence & The Law

Wherever you are in the world you should make yourself aware of the Law of that country as it relates to defending oneself. As a professional Bodyguard I cannot afford not to know my rights in the geography where I am working, that relate to my ability to protect both myself and others. A word of caution though, knowing what the law states is not the same as feeling secure in relying on it. As a foreigner and a western foreigner your chances of that country’s laws ‘being on your side’ are nil and you should know that ‘hit and run’ will be your only option -don’t stop for the de-brief.

However without this knowledge we can have no ‘strategy of defence’ and no clear idea as to our recourse under the Law in times of threat and danger.

I have talked elsewhere of how ‘consequences’ and mental ’log jams’ disable decision making at the wrong time and being unsure as to whether you can strike, or strike preemptively or not, is the last thing you want to have on your mind at that time.

This section of the book will deal with the law as it relates to the UK, but certainly in Europe it has been my experience that, broadly, matters of the law and self defence are the same as here. That having been said I questioned some Dutch Police officers who were helping me with another matter about the law in Holland, as it related to preemptive strikes and all three could not agree on the legality of such action. The law in the UK says that a person charged with a crime may plead that he acted to protect himself, or his property, or others from attack or to prevent a crime. This is, strictly speaking, not a “defence”, but a justification for the defensive conduct which, if successfully pleaded, makes the conduct lawful.

The present legal system in England and Wales traces it’s origins back to the twelfth century and the subsequent expansion of institutions following the conquest of England by the William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. Unlike Europe, where countries based their Law on the codified Roman system, English ‘common’ law developed quite uniquely. This system was based upon two principal courts, the Commons Bench and the King’s Bench. As the system de-centralised there arose in the regions the major court of common law (the ‘assizes’) which survived up to 1972 with the advent of the Crown Court.

The law in England and Wales is divided into two, the Common Law, which is made up of general customs which have been regarded as laws in the land from time immemorial. The Common Law develops from the decisions of the higher courts. Certain rules of conduct have by custom become laws and offences under these laws are termed ‘common law offences’. A substantial proportion of Common Law is termed ‘Case Law’, built up from historical

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.