Self Defence and English Law
The English law states that you may use reasonable force to defend yourself.
However, what constitutes reasonable force (including martial arts) and under what circumstances you may use it is open to discussion and may have to be decided by the courts.
PLEASE NOTE:
The following information is given on the basis of best advice and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it condone the use of force other than for self protection purposes
1. If attacked you have every right to use reasonable force to defend yourself against an unlawful attack.
2. You are equally entitled to use reasonable force to prevent an unlawful attack upon yourself, your family or your property.
3. Under the Criminal Act 1967 you can use reasonable force to prevent an unlawful attack upon anyone.
4. In court, the claim of self defence is proved if the defendant,genuinely believed they were being attacked, or where in imminent danger of attack and the response was proportionate to the perceived threat.
5. If you are attacked, the courts will not expect you to calculate an exact amount of reasonable force.
6. If you perceive you are threatened, you are entitled to act in self defence and not be penalised by the courts – “…if the defendant makes a genuine mistake about the exsistence of a threat, they are entitled to rely on self defence as a defence even if no threat actually existed…..”.
7. In law you do not have to wait for the first blow – “…. a defendant need not wait until they are struck before using force in their defence….” The court of appeal has ruled that, – “……a defendant is entitled to use self defence by striking their assailant before they are struck; and in exceptional circumstances, arm themselves against an expected imminent attack.
8. Although you are expected to show reasonable restraint, as a matter of law you are not obliged to retreat or show unwillingness to fight.
9. The law does not give a person ‘carte blanche’ to beat someone up “…. a defendants actions must be proportionate to the perceived threat….”
10. If the attack is a murderous one, then the defendant would be entitled to use extreme violence.
11. If a defendant is under attack and reaches for the first available object that comes to hand, the use of that object is likely to be deemed as reasonable. Everyday items such as pens, hairbrushes, rolled up magazines etc. can be used against an attacker.
12. You cannot by law carry anything that could be described as an offensive weapon.
English Law – Self Defence – Weapons
1. Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (offensive weapons) shall apply to the following descriptions of weapons, other than weapons of those descriptions which are antiques for the purposes of this Schedule:
(a) A knuckleduster, that is, a band of metal or other hard material worn on one or more fingers, and designed to cause injury, and any weapon incorporating a knuckleduster;
(b) a swordstick, that is, a hollow walking-stick or cane containing a blade which may be used as a sword;
(c) the weapon sometimes known as a “handclaw” , being a band of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn around the hand;
(d) the weapon sometimes known as a “belt buckle knife” , being a buckle which incorporates or conceals a knife;
(e) the weapon sometimes known as a “push dagger” , being a knife the handle of which fits within a clenched fist and the blade of which protrudes from between two fingers;
(f) the weapon sometimes known as a “hollow kubotan” , being a cylindrical container containing a number of sharp spikes;
(g) the weapon sometimes known as a “footclaw” , being a bar of metal or other hard material from which a number of sharp spikes protrude, and worn strapped to the foot;
(h) the weapon sometimes known as a “shuriken” , “shaken” or “death star” , being a hard non-flexible plate having three or more sharp radiating points and designed to be thrown;
(i) the weapon sometimes known as a “balisong” or “butterfly knife” , being a blade enclosed by its handle, which is designed to split down the middle, without the operation of a spring or other mechanical means, to reveal the blade;
(j) the weapon sometimes known as a “telescopic truncheon” , being a truncheon which extends automatically by hand pressure applied to a button, spring or other device in or attached to its handle;
(k) the weapon sometimes known as a “blowpipe” or “blow gun” , being a hollow tube out of which hard pellets or darts are shot by the use of breath;
(l) the weapon sometimes known as a “kusari gama” , being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a sickle;
(m) the weapon sometimes known as a “kyoketsu shoge” , being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at one end to a hooked knife;
(n) the weapon sometimes known as a “manrikigusari” or “kusari” , being a length of rope, cord, wire or chain fastened at each end to a hard weight or hand grip;
2. For the purposes of this Schedule, a weapon is an antique if it was manufactured more than 100 years before the date of any offence alleged to have been committed in respect of that weapon under subsection (1) of the said section 141 or section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979[2] (improper importation).
Amendment of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988
In accordance with section 141(11E) of that Act(2), a draft of this Order was laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment No. 2) Order 2008 and shall come into force on the seventh day after the day on which it is made.
(2) This Order extends to England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Amendment of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988
2.—(1) The Schedule to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988(3) (which specifies offensive weapons for the purposes of section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988) is amended as follows.
(2) For paragraph 3 substitute—
“3. It shall be a defence for a person charged—
(a) with an offence under section 141(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; or
(b) with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(4),
in respect of any conduct of his relating to a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that the weapon in question was made before 1954 or was made at any other time according to traditional methods of making swords by hand.”.
(3) After paragraph 5, insert—
“5A. It shall be a defence for a person charged—
(a) with an offence under section 141(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988; or
(b) with an offence under section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979,
in respect of any conduct of his relating to a weapon to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies by virtue of paragraph 1(r) to show that his conduct was for the purpose only of making the weapon available for the purposes of use in religious ceremonies.”.
(4) In paragraph 6, for “paragraphs 3 and 4” substitute “paragraphs 3, 4 and 5A”.
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Home Office
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order)
Section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (“section 141”) provides that any person who manufactures, sells or hires or offers for sale or hire, exposes or has in his possession for the purpose of sale or hire, or lends or gives to any other person, a weapon to which that section applies shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both. The importation of any such weapon is prohibited.
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988 (the “1988 Order”) specifies weapons to which section 141 applies. Swords with a curved blade of 50 centimetres or over in length are in the list of specified weapons contained in the 1988 Order. In relation to such swords, this Order widens an existing defence to offences under section 141(1) and section 50(2) or (3) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. This amended defence applies to swords made anywhere in the world either before 1954 or at any other time according to traditional methods of making swords by hand. The Order also creates a new defence where the conduct which gave rise to the offence was undertaken for the purposes of making the weapon available for use in religious ceremonies.
English Law – Self Defence 2002 Update
2. This Order extends to England, Wales and Northern Ireland only.
3. The Schedule to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988[2], which specifies offensive weapons for the purposes of section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, shall be amended by the insertion into paragraph 1 of that Schedule after sub-paragraph (n) the words -
“a disguised knife, that is any knife which has a concealed blade or concealed sharp point and is designed to appear to be an everyday object of a kind commonly carried on the person or in a handbag, briefcase, or other hand luggage (such as a comb, brush, writing instrument, cigarette lighter, key, lipstick or telephone)”
John Denham
Minister of State
Home Office
22nd June 2002
Amendment of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988
3. – (1) The Schedule to the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988[2], (which specify offensive weapons for the purposes of section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988), shall be amended by the insertion into paragraph 1 of that Schedule after sub-paragraph (o) the following:
(p) “A stealth knife, that is a knife or spike, which has a blade, or sharp point, made from a material that is not readily detectable by apparatus used for detecting metal and which is not designed for domestic use or for use in the processing, preparation or consumption of food or as a toy”
(q) “A straight, side-handled or friction-lock truncheon (sometimes known as a baton)“.
Hazel Blears
Minister of State
Home Office
5th May 2004
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