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In most Litigation under the Common Law Adversarial System the Defendant , perhaps with the assistance of Counsel , may allege or present defenses (or '''defences''') in order to avoid Liability , civil or criminal. A defendant will often contest the accuracy of the allegations made against him or her in a criminal indictment or in a civil complaint. A defense, by contrast, does not depend on refuting such allegations. Instead, a defense introduces new matter, arguing that, even if the allegations against the defendant are true, the defendant is entitled to prevail for some other reason. CRIMINAL LAW DEFENSES In Criminal Law these defenses can be grouped into four categories:
With the exception of actual innocence and Automatism , these defenses do not argue that the defendant did not commit an '' Actus Reus '' ( Latin for "guilty act" but the term includes both acts and Omissions ) which broke the Law ; but rather, that the defendant should not be held Culpable for what occurred. Note that there is also defense against an attacker, see Self Defense And Defense Of Others , Defense Of Property . CIVIL LAW DEFENSES In Common Law civil practice Affirmative Defense s are presented to limit or avoid liability, they are numerous and include:
DEFENSE AGAINST AN ATTACKER Note that apart from this defense against prosecution and liability, there is also defense against an attacker, which can be a legal justification, see Self Defense And Defense Of Others , Defense Of Property . SEE ALSO |
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