DURESS AND NECESSITY Introduction

Introduction The defences of duress and necessity are often referred to as a concession to human frailty. This means that they are excusatory defences; they excuse the defendant’s conduct which is otherwise unlawful. The grounds for excusing the conduct are that the defendant was compelled to act as he did because of a threat to his or another’s life or because of a threat of serious injury. This threat may be issued by another person (duress) or it may arise out of the situation that the defendant finds himself in (necessity or duress of circumstances).