An old lady in Chongqing sneaked into a vegetable garden to steal vegetables, and escaped after being discovered by the vegetable owner. In the subsequent catch-up process, the old lady accidentally fell and was hospitalized and was identified as a grade 10 disability, incurring medical expenses of more than 23,000 yuan. After that, the old lady sued the vegetable owner to the court, demanding that the other party compensate her for various losses totaling more than 80,000 yuan. After trial, the Yongchuan District People's Court of Chongqing Municipality ruled to reject all the claims of the "vegetable stealer". This incident has sparked widespread concern and discussion about the right to "emergency self-help" in society.
The incident occurred in a small village in Yongchuan District, Chongqing. According to the vegetable owner, he found that the old lady had entered his vegetable garden to pick vegetables without permission, and immediately stopped him. After being refused, the granny tries to flee the scene, while the owner of the dish follows. Unfortunately, during the chase, the old lady accidentally fell and injured herself.
Such incidents are not unique. In recent years, there have been a number of disputes across the country caused by individuals taking emergency self-help measures. For example, someone is claimed for chasing a thief and causing the thief to fall and die; Someone who climbed a tree without the owner's consent to pick fruit, fell down and died, and filed a claim against the owner of the tree, etc. These cases have not only aroused the attention of the legal community, but also made ordinary people think deeply about how to protect their legitimate rights and interests without infringing on the rights and interests of others.
Through the ruling of this case, the court made it clear that the act of self-protection in the event of infringement of rights must be exercised in strict accordance with the provisions of the law. The law does not support self-help behavior that exceeds the scope of reasonableness. In addition, the court also reminded the general public that when their rights and interests are damaged, they should give priority to solving the problem through legal means to avoid unnecessary legal risks caused by excessive actions.
So, under what prerequisites can self-help behaviors be implemented? In the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, the provisions on self-help are as follows:
Infringement of legitimate rights and interests: First of all, there must be a precondition that the legitimate rights and interests of an individual or legal person are being infringed by others. For example, the other party illegally trespasses on the land, the property is illegally occupied or used, etc.
Urgency: In the event of a violation of rights, self-help can be taken if it is not possible to obtain immediate protection from the State authorities, or if waiting for the intervention of the State authority will lead to irreparable damage.
Failure to receive timely assistance from state authorities: If it takes a long time to solve the problem through conventional legal means, and during this time there may be irreversible damage to legitimate rights and interests, then self-help actions can be taken.
Necessary and reasonable measures: Measures for self-help should be necessary and reasonable, i.e., limited to what is necessary to prevent the infringement from continuing and to protect the damaged legitimate rights and interests. For example, the temporary recovery of illegally occupied items, or the blocking of ongoing illegal construction activities.
Do not exceed the necessary limit to avoid losses: The implementation of self-help behavior should not exceed the necessary limit, so as not to cause undue damage to the legitimate rights and interests of the infringer.
Immediately report to the state authorities: After taking a self-help act, it must be reported to the relevant state authority as soon as possible and asked for their intervention in the matter. This is a statutory requirement for self-help behaviour and failure to do so may be considered an offence.
Handled by the State Authority: The final decision on the disposition shall be made by the court or other relevant State authority. Self-help is only a temporary measure and is not a substitute for legal procedures.
In short, self-help must be a necessary, reasonable, and proportionate measure taken in the event that legitimate rights and interests are urgently infringed upon and it is impossible to obtain timely assistance from the state organs, and it is necessary to report to the state organs subsequently. The purpose of such behavior is to protect one's own legitimate rights and interests, not to retaliate or for illegal purposes.