Definition

• When a threat to initiate nonconsensual physical force against another person or their property is substantial, it constitutes one of the nine forms of aggressing (a valid breach of the Legal Principle).
• When a substantial threat is imminent, the person at risk is always legally entitled to self-defense, and any person may defend another person by using the least amount of force necessary to terminate the threat.

The local community must reasonably define “imminence” and “reasonableness”

• What facts exactly constitute what’s “substantial,” “imminent,” or “reasonable” are determinations best left to local communities. Sometimes they are best left to a jury to decide in an individual case. Each of these concepts has grey areas, and the local community must determine the law. This definition will continue to evolve as each new case sets a legal precedent. There is already a vast body of legal cases that can inform sound judgment.