said 'If it were not assize time, I would not take such language from you,' whilst showing his sword, that words negating an assault is not an assault. This was because 'the intention as well as the act makes an assault' and 'the court agreed it was not; for the declaration of the plaintiff was, that he would not assault him,'. However, words negating an assault to a certain extent is an assault. "If one, intending to assault: so if he held up his hand against another in a threatening manner and say nothing, it is an assault.-'. For example, If person A held a knife to right up to person B's throat and said: "because there are people around I won't cut you", this would be enough to warrant an assault. This was clarified in R v Light'' where the defendant held a spade over his wife's head and said 'if that police officer wasn't outside, I would hurt you'. This was held to warrant an assault, words can only negate an assault to a certain extent. If there is a weapon in hand then the words you say are unlikely to negate your assault. 'There is an obvious proximity in time and place.' and a viable threat of real, imminent harm. Defences Assault can be justified in situations where there is 'lawful justification or excuse' for their actions such as: self-defense or defense of a third party where the act was deemed reasonable and necessary. It can also be justified in the context of a sport where consent may be given or implied. An act of assault may also be privileged, meaning that the person who commits the assault had the legal right to do so and cannot be sued, as might occur if a police officer draws a firearm on a criminal suspect. Lastly, automatism (e.g., sleep walking) acts to negate the intent element as someone acting while asleep is not acting voluntarily. Damages See main page: Damages The claimant could be awarded nominal damage, if no harm came to them because this tort is actionable per se. Additionally, they could be entitled to: compensatory damages whereby you try and put the claimant in the position they would have been in before the assault occurred, or the claimant could be entitled to an injunction whereby you try and stop repeated behaviour occurring by setting conditions and finally,