On the Judicial Misjudgment of Legitimate Defense in China and Paths for Optimization

Abstract

In China's judicial practice, the evaluation and determination of legitimate defense have long been a practi - cal issue troubling judicial officers. The primary manifestation of this issue is the unclear identification of the actor's behavior, particularly the confusion between legitimate defense and excessive defense, mutual combat, and deviations from established legal determinations. The root cause of this situation can be attributed to the widespread adoption of the "result-based theory," which leads to the deepening of the principle of equivalence of interests. To resolve these issues, a comprehensive and specific behavioral recognition approach should be established. Specifically, this should involve returning to a "behavior-centered recognition model," construct - ing a dual-standard for defense judgments, and incorporating "contextual responsibility factors" as an import- ant reference. Additionally, a quantitative evaluation mechanism should be introduced to address the judicial challenge of determining whether the defense "obviously exceeds the necessary limits." This would serve to optimize the path for determining legitimate defense.