Self-help, in the sense of a legal doctrine, refers to a situation where a person implements his rights without resorting to legal writ or consultation of higher authority, as where a financial institution repossesses a car on which they hold both the title and a defaulted note, retrieving one's property found under the unauthorized control of another person, or simply abating a nuisance such as using sandbags and ditches to protect your land from being flooded. Things like this are legal to do as long as no other law is broken, and no breach of the peace occurs.

自力救済