The issue raised here, which I hope the Minister will address and which we will have an opportunity to discuss on Committee Stage, is whether these clarificatory gains are a counterweight to the fact that we are now relying on a wholly subjective test of the occupier's belief, which will potentially allow for the infliction of deadly force on the basis of paranoia, fear, apprehension or anxiety rather than objective concerns over physical threats to the individual, as opposed to property. I note that the Bill does not adopt the four suggested factors of the Law Reform Commission - threshold, eminence, necessity and proportionality - in assessing reasonableness, and therefore the emphasis on the judge or jury's belief in the credibility of the individual rather than the physical factors surrounding the incident will be crucial.

See this item in context