Asunción: Faced with the daily insecurity in Paraguay, many choose to defend themselves to protect their lives and property. However, it is important to know what the law says about self-defence and in which cases it counts as such.
After the incident in the city of Areguá, where a shopkeeper shot a criminal during a robbery, the question arises again: does this act count as legitimate self-defence, or when is it no longer legitimate?
First of all, we must assume that Article 19 of the Paraguayan Penal Code clearly states that “persons acting in legitimate self-defense shall not be charged”.
“In general, the use of self-defense should be the only option, and only at the moment the injury occurs. The discussion is when the action ends. Many feel that if the perpetrator retreats they can be tracked and there is no self-defense, but personally I believe that self-defense continues as long as it is not interrupted. If after the crime the criminal still retreats and the person tries to evade, I believe the crime is still complete and there is self-defense,” said attorney Guillermo Ferreiro.
Regarding the last point, the jurist even argued that there are always discussions about the cases because they represent the limits of an action. In this sense he gave as an example an attack where the aggression stopped, but the victim finds the perpetrator hours later or the next day, in this scenario the victim cannot respond with “self-defense”.
But what happens when the perpetrator finishes attacking me, goes onto the sidewalk, and I shoot him?
“In my opinion, the aggression is still there. The legislation already provides for this and speaks of an excess of confusion or horror as the event has just happened. For example, I was a victim, a gun was pointed at me and my property was taken, so you cannot punish citizens for not knowing how to distinguish this limit of present or past aggression, it is always a matter of discussion” , repeated the lawyer.
In this regard, the lawyer pointed out that the victim is under the stress of a violent event and will not distinguish the boundary that creates the very excess of confusion or terror. “The law provides for two divisions, so that the victim is not punished for having defended himself and going too far in his defense, but neither is he punished because this excess was caused by the violent aggression of the criminal himself” , affirmed Ferreiro.
However, Ferreiro pointed out that one must be very careful with “justice by one’s own hands”. “These are complex situations where the concern is to protect the citizen and avoid excessive violence and vigilantism,” he said.
Wochenblatt / The Nation
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