Defense of strangers, A11(3) Revised Penal Code

1. Concept

Defense of strangers – refers to a justifying circumstance wherein no criminal liability results for a crime committed by an accused who was defending a stranger.

Read more: Justifying circumstances

a. Legal basis

Article 11. Justifying circumstances. - The following do not incur any criminal liability:

3. Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger, provided that the first and second requisites mentioned in the first circumstance of this Article are present and that the person defending be not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive.

(Revised Penal Code)

2. Defense of strangers

For the 3rd justifying circumstance: anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of a stranger, provided that the first and second requisites mentioned in the first circumstance of this Article are present and that the person defending be not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive

Elements of defense of stranger:

1) Unlawful aggression;

2) Reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it; and

3) The person defending be not induced by revenge, resentment, or other evil motive. (Masipequina v. CA, G.R. No. L-51206, August 25, 1989, Per Cortes, J.)

NB: The 1st and 2nd elements are the same for self-defense (A11[1]), defense of relatives (A11[2]), and defense of strangers (A11[3]). They only differ in the 3rd element. Thus, for the following discussions related to the 1st and 2nd elem...