Actio libera in causa

Actio libera in causa, frequently abbreviated a.l.i.c. and Latin for action free in its cause, is a principle of law found in a typical Western legal system, in both common law and civil law. The doctrine holds that even if a person was not free to choose the course of action while performing an offence, that person can still be held responsible if he or she voluntarily created the condition, the cause, for the offending action. The source's typical example is self-defense: in Anglo-American jurisdictions lethal action is justified under certain circumstances while protecting oneself, others or property, but the defense is not available, for example, to a person who started the fight and so created the cause for killing in self-defense at a later time. Most frequently the principle is mentioned in relation to voluntary intoxication: a person who gets drunk cannot use her state of inebriation to claim that, for example, her act of negligence was an accident.