Sokvari v The Queen

Sokvari was the applicant in proceedings before the High Court of Australia, appealing against a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute concerned the applicant's conviction for murder, following a trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The High Court was required to determine whether the trial judge had erred in law by failing to direct the jury adequately on the issue of self-defence. Specifically, the court considered whether the jury should have been instructed that the applicant's belief as to the necessity of using force, even if mistaken, was to be judged by the circumstances as the applicant perceived them to be.

The Court held that the trial judge's directions were insufficient. Applying the principles established in *Zecevic v Director of Public Prosecutions* (1987) 162 CLR 645, the Court reasoned that the question of whether the applicant acted in self-defence involved an assessment of both the applicant's subjective belief and the objective reasonableness of the force used. The jury needed to be instructed that if the applicant genuinely believed that the use of force was necessary to defend himself, that belief was to be judged by the circumstances as he perceived them, and the reasonableness of the force used was then to be assessed objectively in light of that perceived situation.

The High Court allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and ordered a new trial.