R v K

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

R v K is a South African case about private defence. The court ruled that in self‑defence, the person defending themselves does not have to show the attacker acted with criminal intent. You can defend yourself against someone who lacks criminal capacity, such as a mentally disordered person. Chief Justice Centlivres compared SA law with a view from Brown v United States, saying that if a person reasonably believes they are in immediate danger of death or serious harm, they may stand their ground, and killing may still be lawful self‑defence. The law does not require calm, detached reflection when faced with an urgent threat, such as an attacker with an uplifted knife.