Can I defend myself if I am attacked?
Yes — but only within the "necessary limits". Under art. 12 of the Criminal Code, an act done in self-defence is not socially dangerous: you may defend yourself — or someone else — against an immediate unlawful attack by causing harm to the attacker. The boundary is proportionality: the limits are exceeded where the defence is clearly disproportionate to the character and danger of the attack. The court weighs all the circumstances — the force and intensity of the attack, the weapons, the number of attackers, your own capacity to resist, the place and the time. Two key rules: the limits cannot be exceeded where the attack involves breaking into a dwelling by force; and the defender is not punished where the excess is due to fright or confusion.
📋 The rules
- The attack must be immediate and unlawful
- Harm may be caused only to the attacker
- The defence must stay within necessary limits
- The limits cannot be exceeded on a break-in
- No punishment where the excess is due to fright or confusion
🔓 Exceptions
- You may defend another person, not only yourself
- Defence also extends to protecting state and public interests
- Retaliation after the attack has ended is not defence but a separate offence
⚠️ Penalties & fines
The danger lies at both ends. If the defence clearly overshoots the attack — a lethal blow against an unarmed assailant who is already running — that is exceeding the limits and is prosecuted as an offence, albeit one carrying a lighter penalty. On the other hand, any serious injury triggers an investigation, and you will have to account for what you did — so call the emergency number at once, stay at the scene, do not move objects, and note the witnesses. Crucially: the defence lasts only as long as the attack does. A blow struck after the attacker is disarmed or fleeing is no longer defence — it is revenge.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
When is self-defence lawful?
Against an immediate unlawful attack, where the harm is caused to the attacker and stays within necessary limits. If there is no attack, or it has ended, there is no defence.
What does "exceeding the limits" mean?
Where the defence is clearly disproportionate to the character and danger of the attack. The court weighs the force, the weapons, the number of attackers, your capacity, the place and time.
What if someone breaks into my home?
Where the attack involves breaking into a dwelling by force, the law treats the limits of self-defence as incapable of being exceeded. That is an express rule of art. 12.
What if I acted in panic?
The defender is not punished where the excess is due to fright or confusion. That is a free-standing ground for excluding criminal liability under the Criminal Code.
Can I defend someone else?
Yes. Self-defence covers the person and rights not only of the defender but of anyone else, as well as state and public interests.
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