New South Wales Bills New South Wales Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Amendment of Crimes Act 1900 No 40 2
4 Repeal of Home Invasion (Occupants Protection) Act
1998 No 109 2
Schedule 1 Amendments 3
b00-409-p02.802
New South Wales
Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
No , 2001
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Crimes Act 1900 in relation to self-defence; and to repeal the
Home Invasion (Occupants Protection) Act 1998.
Clause 1 Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Right to Self-defence Act 2001. 3
2 Commencement 4
This Act commences on a day to be appointed by proclamation. 5
3 Amendment of Crimes Act 1900 No 40 6
The Crimes Act 1900 is amended as set out in Schedule 1. 7
4 Repeal of Home Invasion (Occupants Protection) Act 1998 No 109 8
The Home Invasion (Occupants Protection) Act 1998 is repealed. 9
Page 2
Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
Amendments Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendments 1
(Section 3) 2
Part 8B 3
Insert after Part 8A: 4
Part 8B Self-defence 5
344B Definitions 6
In this Part: 7
conduct means an act or an omission to perform an act. 8
criminal trespass means criminal trespass to land or premises, 9
and includes an offence under section 18 of the Imperial Acts 10
Application Act 1969 or the Inclosed Lands Protection 11
Act 1901. 12
offence means an offence punishable under this Act and 13
committed after the commencement of this Part. 14
344C Self-defence 15
(1) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence if he or 16
she carries out the conduct constituting the offence in 17
self-defence. 18
(2) A person carries out conduct in self-defence if and only if he or 19
she believes the conduct is necessary: 20
(a) to defend himself or herself or another person, or 21
(b) to prevent or terminate the unlawful imprisonment of 22
himself or herself or another person, or 23
(c) to protect property from unlawful appropriation, 24
destruction, damage or interference, or 25
(d) to prevent criminal trespass, or 26
Page 3
Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
Schedule 1 Amendments
(e) to remove from any land or premises a person who is 1
committing criminal trespass, 2
and the conduct is a reasonable response in the circumstances 3
as he or she perceives them. 4
(3) This section does not prevent a person who carries out conduct 5
in self-defence: 6
(a) to defend himself or herself or another person, or 7
(b) to prevent or terminate the unlawful imprisonment of 8
himself or herself or another person, 9
from using a higher level of force than that used by the person 10
against whom the conduct in self-defence is carried out. 11
(4) It is not self-defence if the person uses force that involves the 12
intentional infliction of death or the intentional infliction of 13
grievous bodily harm and if he or she believes that the 14
infliction of the death or grievous bodily harm is necessary for 15
the purpose only of: 16
(a) protecting property, or 17
(b) preventing criminal trespass, or 18
(c) removing a person who is committing criminal trespass. 19
(5) It is not self-defence if: 20
(a) the person is responding to lawful conduct, and 21
(b) he or she knew that the conduct was lawful. 22
However, conduct is not lawful merely because the person 23
whose act or omission comprised the conduct is not criminally 24
responsible for it. 25
(6) This section has effect subject to any other provision of this 26
Act. 27
344D Burden of proof 28
(1) The prosecution bears the burden of proving beyond reasonable 29
doubt that conduct was not carried out in self-defence when it 30
has been established that the evidence discloses the possibility 31
that it was carried out in self-defence. 32
Page 4
Right to Self-defence Bill 2001
Amendments Schedule 1
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), the prosecution bears the 1
burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant 2
believed that the infliction of death or grievous bodily harm as 3
referred to in section 344C (4) was necessary only for a 4
purpose so referred to. 5
(3) This section applies whether or not the plea of self-defence is 6
raised by the defendant. 7
344E Immunity from civil liability 8
A person who carries out conduct in self-defence is immune 9
from civil liability resulting from his or her conduct. 10
Note. Under section 352 of this Act, a person acting in self-defence may, without having 11
to obtain a warrant, arrest the assailant, if the assailant: 12
(a) is in the act of committing an offence, or 13
(b) has just committed an offence, or 14
(c) has committed a serious indictable offence for which the assailant has not been 15
tried. 16
Page 5
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]