Necessity

• Martin?

  defence governed by same rules as duress
• Pommell?

  available for all crimes except murder, attempted murder and assisting murder

  • Generally now only used in medical cases – e.g. Re A (conjoined twins)
• Three requirements for defence of necessity:

  • the act is needed to avoid inevitable and irreparable evil
  • no more should be done than is reasonably necessary for the purpose to be achieved
  • the evil inflicted must not be disproportionate to the evil avoided.