Necessity Flashcards
not technically a defence (lesser of two evils) (1 cards)
1
Q
Necessity
A
Dudley and Stephens: not a defence (sailor boy case)
Southwark LBC v Williams (Lord Denning): “if hunger were once allowed to be an excuse for stealing, it would open a door through which all kinds of lawlessness and disorder would roam… Necessity would open a door which no man could close”
Re A: conjoined twins case; necessity allowed but distinguished as a very unique case
Gardner: an “ethically impossible exercise”; “to take the utilitarian approach even here is to disregard the value which I, and especially you, may subjectively attach to our property”
Glazebrook: it’s unjustifiable to support the “lesser of two evils” in the circumstances of duress or self-defence, but not in other circumstances
