Imminent peril, or imminent danger, is an American legal concept where Imminent peril is "certain danger, immediate, and impending;
menacing
Menacing or brandishing is a criminal offense in many U.S. states generally defined as displaying a weapon with the intent of placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury or death. Depending on state, degrees of offense range from a ...
ly close at hand, and threatening." In many states in the USA, a mere necessity for quick action does not constitute an emergency within the doctrine of imminent peril, where the situation calling for the action is one which should reasonably have been anticipated and which the person whose action is called for should have been prepared to meet; the doctrine of imminent peril does not excuse one who has brought about the peril by their own negligence.
Legislation
In California, legislation authorizes a person to use deadly force to defend against death or serious injury if they believe they are in imminent peril.Cambridge Dictionary Online /ref> Raymond L. Middleton, Warden v. Sally Marie McNeil is a California case that espouses this doctrine. The 2012
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
Statutes lay measurable conditions to determine if the "fear of imminent peril" is reasonable under the law. Both the
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ) and the
International Law Commission
The International Law Commission (ILC) is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law. It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by t ...
(ILC) have recognized the profound motivations of one's lawful fear of imminent peril and have adopted measures to define consequences, of self-defense against such peril, as reasonable.
Peril
Peril is
synonymous
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
with danger but lacks the suddenness of the "imminent" qualifier. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...
(OSHA) regulates safety standards for workplaces in the United States. Its charter obligation is to identify dangerous conditions in the workplace with a potential for sudden peril, and to require employers to actively mitigate the risks.Call (800) 321-OSHA immediately to report imminent dangers United States Department of Labor, retrieved 11/17/2012
See also
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Castle doctrine
A castle doctrine, also known as a castle law or a defense of habitation law, is a legal doctrine that designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place (for example, a vehicle or home) as a place in which that person has protections and ...
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Good Samaritan law
Good Samaritan laws offer legal protection to people who give reasonable assistance to those who are, or whom they believe to be injured, ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated.Emergency exception
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Exigent circumstance In criminal procedure law of the United States, an exigent circumstance allows law enforcement (under certain circumstances) to enter a structure without a search warrant, or if they have a "knock and announce" warrant, allows them to enter without ...
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Necessity in Canadian law
Canadian criminal law allows for a common law defence of necessity. ''Necessitas non habet legem;'' "Necessity knows no law." This well-known maxim reflects the theoretical basis of the defence of necessity: that in dire circumstances of looming ...
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Rescue doctrine
In the USA, the rescue doctrine of the law of torts holds that if a tortfeasor
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be con ...