What is Homicide Within the Limits of Necessary Defense and Why Legal Defense is Crucial
Every citizen is guaranteed the fundamental, constitutional right to protect their own life and health, including the absolute right to defend themselves vigorously against an unlawful and immediate physical attack. However, in many chaotic situations, the process of self-defense may unfortunately result in a severe consequence—the death of the attacker. Under Georgian legislation, if an individual acted strictly within the legal framework of "necessary defense" (meaning they were protecting themselves or another person and did not exceed the necessary and proportional measures of defense), the act is not considered a crime, and the individual is fully and completely exempt from any criminal liability. But in harsh legal practice, the situation is infinitely more complex: police investigations almost always begin under the heavy charge of intentional murder, while "exceeding the limits of necessary defense" (when the force used was clearly disproportionate to the nature and danger of the actual attack) is a punishable offense under the Criminal Code of Georgia. Therefore, the legal boundary separating lawful self-defense, exceeding the limits of self-defense, and intentional murder is incredibly thin. High-quality legal services in this category of cases are vitally important to ensure that the crime scene is analyzed immediately, that highly technical traceological and medical expert examinations are appointed, and that it is conclusively proven that the individual's actions were the one and only way to save their own or another person's life. The active involvement of an experienced defense attorney entirely precludes the incorrect qualification of the facts by prosecutors and robustly protects the individual from a grossly unjust and severe prison sentence.