The book presents an overview and assessment of court decision concerning the interpretation of the provisions of the Criminal Code governing necessary defence and the legal consequences of exceeding legally admissible limits of necessary defence. The authors perform a critical review of the empirical material comprising 88 rulings of the Polish Supreme Court, 194 rulings of Courts of Appeal and 34 rulings of Regional Courts rulings, which include a substantive adjudication demonstrating the court’s perception of the components and functions of necessary defence or the consequences of an excess of its limits. The ultimate purpose of the publication is to answer the question whether the present approach, as expressed in the laws governing necessary defence and consequences of overstepping its limits, is indeed the best possible one, especially given the prevailing avenues of judicial interpretation of these laws, which have a significant impact on the court’s line of reasoning followed on a case-by-case basis. The presented book is thus not only a doctrinal and legal reflection and analysis of the current law and practice of its application but also an attempt to formulate a proposal for future legal reform.