This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Absolute defence" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Common law
Contract law
Tort law
Property law
Wills
Trusts and estates
Criminal law
Evidence
v
t
e
Criminal defenses
Part of the common law series
Actual innocence
Immunity
Mental disorder (Insanity)
Diminished responsibility
Intoxication
Infancy
Automatism
Alibi
Consent
Mistake
Duress
Age
Necessity
Provocation
Self-defense
False confession
Entrapment
See also
Criminal law and procedure
Other common law areas
Criminal
Contract
Tort
Property
wills
Trusts
Estates
Evidence
Portals
Law portal
v
t
e
In law, an absolute defence (or defense) is a factual circumstance or argument that, if proven, will end the litigation in favor of the defendant.[1] The concept of an absolute defence is not a rigid one. Statutes frequently use the term merely as a synonym to "full" or "complete". It is more often used, however, as a term of art in both criminal and civil law to refer to an underlying set of facts and laws, not raised by the complaint or indictment, which will require the defendant's dismissal even if the factual allegations of the complaining pleading are true.
Another characteristic of an absolute defence is that, when it is pleaded and proven, it is not subject to mitigation or collateral attack.
Examples of absolute defences include:
Truth of an allegedly libelous statement (in modern defamation): a person cannot be made to pay damages for a defamatory statement, if the person can show that the statement is true (even if the statement is damaging, and the person said it in bad faith). This is the case in some jurisdictions, including the United States, but not in others, including England and Wales and Australia.
Self-defence in a battery case: a person cannot be held criminally liable for battery if they can prove Right of self-defence under certain circumstances (e.g. where retreat was impossible, or where the use of force was not excessive).[2]
Immunity of various kinds can provide an absolute defence. For example, sovereign immunity, a common law doctrine followed in many jurisdictions, provides a state with immunity unless it agrees to waive its immunity, usually by legislation allowing specific claims to be brought.
Use of the word "absolute" sometimes causes confusion, because even in the law "absolute" is sometimes used simply as a synonym for "full" or "complete". As a term or art, however, there are many complete defences which are not customarily called absolute. Most notably, innocence, while a complete defense to a criminal charge, is not generally termed "absolute", because it involves a material fact of the pleading. On the other hand, double jeopardy is more likely to be termed an absolute defence; an indictment or (other criminal initiating pleading) does not have to state that the defendant has not previously been tried on the crime, but once a defendant shows that he has been previously tried for a crime, his dismissal is required by the US Constitution.
Both an absolute defence and a complete defence must be distinguished from a partial defence, by which the litigant hopes to mitigate the outcome of the litigation, or limit culpability, but the liability is not eliminated. Examples include diminished capacity to understand the wrongfulness of the action, or a mistake of fact that affected the intention of the litigant.
^Carlson, Anyangwe (2015-09-23). Criminal Law: The General Part. Langaa RPCIG. p. 247. ISBN 978-9956-762-78-1.
^Carlson, Anyangwe (2015-09-23). Criminal Law: The General Part. Langaa RPCIG. p. 290. ISBN 978-9956-762-78-1.
In law, an absolutedefence (or defense) is a factual circumstance or argument that, if proven, will end the litigation in favor of the defendant. The...
Look up absolute in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Absolute may refer to: Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin...
whether the defence of a “mistake of fact” is available: in a crime of absolute liability, a mistake of fact is not a defence. Strict or absolute liability...
truth as an absolutedefence against libel charges. The outcome of the case is one of jury nullification, and not a case where the defence acquitted itself...
ducal letter was sent to all reggimenti ordering the preparation of "absolutedefence" and demanding anew their oaths of allegiance to the Republic. On 21...
This doctrine is applied in matters in which truth is used as an absolutedefence to a defamation claim brought against a public figure, but only false...
established, the defendant may present defences. Truth (also referred to as justification) is an absolutedefence to defamation in all common law provinces...
the defence of automatism, the Appellate Division held that even automatism arising out of voluntary intoxication may constitute an absolutedefence, leading...
Australian law of any legal provision or precedent which makes truth an absolutedefence in defamation cases. The association between organised crime and racing...
Absolute privilege is a complete defence to an action for defamation in English law. If the defence of absolute privilege applies it is irrelevant that...
person to carry out an abortion. The Abortion Act 1967 provides an absolutedefence for a medical practitioner provided certain well-known conditions are...
Total defence is a defence policy combining and extending the concept of military defence and civil defence. It entails a high level of readiness of both...
completed. Presentation and subsequent rejection of payment provides an absolutedefence for to an action brought by the creditor, but without the action (and...
with rape because at the time it was believed that a husband had an absolutedefence in law by virtue of being married to the victim. At trial the three...
rights to use the registered marks and provides registrants with an absolutedefence to a passing off cause of action. It was held in Molson Canada v Oland...
by the Basic Law. If the Bundestag fails to elect a chancellor with an absolute majority of its members on the 15th day after the first ballot of a chancellor's...
privacy of the plaintiff. Where privacy is infringed, truth is not an absolutedefence, though some latitude is permitted if the plaintiff is a public figure...
which occurred in Siam on 24 June 1932. It ended Siam's centuries-long absolute monarchy rule under the Chakri dynasty and resulted in a bloodless transition...
permission of the Home Secretary), a "supervision and treatment" order, or an absolute discharge. Unlike defendants who are found guilty of a crime, they are...
The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defence is a victim blaming strategy of legal defense, which refers to a situation in which a heterosexual...
mobilization order and direct the country's national defence during times of war. The president also has absolute control over North Korea's nuclear arsenal. The...
(22 September 1983 – 23 November 2023), better known by his ring name Absolute Andy, was a German professional wrestler. He was best known for his work...
"A defence of common sense" is a 1925 essay by philosopher G. E. Moore. In it, he attempts to refute absolute skepticism (or nihilism) by arguing that...
Average absolute deviation, a measure of absolute deviation and a way to report error against reference data in statistics Advanced Air defence, an anti-ballistic...
The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies...