Necessity - national proceedings

Fiji

Fiji - Crimes decree 2009 EN

CHAPTER II — GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

PART 6 — CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THERE IS NO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Division 4 — Circumstances involving external factors

Sudden or extraordinary emergency

41.—(1) A person is not criminally responsible for an offence if he or she carries out the conduct constituting the offence in response to circumstances of sudden or extraordinary emergency.

(2) This section applies if and only if the person carrying out the conduct reasonably believes that—

(a) circumstances of sudden or extraordinary emergency exist ; and
(b) committing the offence is the only reasonable way to deal with the emergency ; and
(c) the conduct is a reasonable response to the emergency.

Rome Statute

Article 31 Grounds for excluding criminal responsibility

1. In addition to other grounds for excluding criminal responsibility provided for in this Statute, a person shall not be criminally responsible if, at the time of that person's conduct:

(c) The person acts reasonably to defend himself or herself or another person or, in the case of war crimes, property which is essential for the survival of the person or another person or property which is essential for accomplishing a military mission, against an imminent and unlawful use of force in a manner proportionate to the degree of danger to the person or the other person or property protected. The fact that the person was involved in a defensive operation conducted by forces shall not in itself constitute a ground for excluding criminal responsibility under this subparagraph;