Justifying circumstances refer to situations where the act of a person is in accordance with the law, and therefore, the person is deemed not to have violated the law. In criminal law, justifying circumstances are those where the actors actions are in accordance with the law, and hence, they do not incur any criminal or civil liability. The following are examples of justifying circumstances:

• Self-defense: Anyone who acts in defense of their person or rights, provided that there is unlawful aggression, reasonable necessity of the means employed to prevent or repel it, and lack of sufficient provocation on the part of the person defending themselves.

• Defense of relatives: Anyone who acts in defense of the person or rights of their spouse, ascendants, descendants, or legitimate, natural, or adopted brothers or sisters, or their relatives by affinity in the same degrees and those consanguinity within the fourth civil degree, provided that the circumstances in self-defense concur.

• Defense of property: A person may be justified in causing injury to another in defense of their property, even if there was no attack against their person.

• State of necessity: This exists when there is a clash between two unequal rights, and the lesser right gives way to the greater right. This is the only justifying circumstance wherein civil liability may arise, but it is borne by the person benefited by their act.

It is important to note that an accused who pleads a justifying circumstance admits to the commission of acts that would otherwise engender criminal liability. In the process of proving justifying circumstances, the accused risks admitting the imputed acts. Conviction follows if the evidence for the accused fails to prove the existence of the justifying circumstances.