The claim that an act otherwise criminal was legally justifiable because it was necessary to protect a person or property from the threat or action of another.

The right to protect oneself and one's family from an aggressor, it is an affirmative defense to a crime.

The use of reasonable force to defend oneself against immediate bodily harm threatened by the unlawful act of another.

Citizen and Nationalist training, arming and pro- tection: personal, as a Force and national, emphasizing that self-defense is within the law.

the act of defending yourself

This is the most commonly asserted defense in criminal trials in Texas. It is a defense to a charge, usually for assault, that the Defendant used force "when and to the degree he reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect himself" against another's use or attempted use of force. Self-Defense does not apply if: 1) the Defendant is responding to words alone, 2) in response to an arrest or search by someone the Defendant knows is a police officer, even if the arrest or search is illegal, 3) where the Defendant consented to the use of force against him, for instance, in a football game or, 4) if the Defendant "provoked" the incident (in other words, goaded someone into attacking him so that he would be legally entitled to retaliate).

Use of force to protect one's self, family or property from harm or threatened harm by another.

The protection of one's property or person against some injury attempted by another. The law of self-defense justifies an act done in reasonable belief of immediate danger.

an affirmative defense in a criminal case, also known as justification; the act of protection of one's person or property done in reasonable belief of immediate danger from another

is the use of force against another to the degree a person reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect himself or herself.

An affirmative defense to a crime. Self-defense is the use of reasonable force to protect oneself from an aggressor. Self-defense shields a person from criminal liability for the harm inflicted on the aggressor. For example, a robbery victim who takes the robber's weapon and uses it against the robber during a struggle won't be liable for assault and battery since he can show that his action was reasonably necessary to protect himself from imminent harm.

A reasonable force to protect oneself from an aggresor, to defense to a crime.

In the United States, the defense of self-defense allows a person attacked to use reasonable force in their own defense and the defense of others.

In Sweden, the law of self-defence allows a person attacked to excuse or justify a proportionate use of violence in defence of the person or property.