Excessive Self-defence: Third-party Problems

摘要

The defendant stood trial for intentionally causing bodily harm (mis-handeling, Article 300 Dutch Criminal Code (DCC)). According to the charge, she had caused bodily harm to the victim by intentionally hitting her in the face, pulling her hair and kicking her in the head and other parts of her body. Before The Hague Court of Appeal, the defendant claimed that the offence was committed in a situation of self-defence, albeit that she had exceeded the limits of necessary defence. The victim, however, was not the person who had initially attacked her.