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Is there any place in the world where it is still legally possible to kill someone in a duel and not be charged? If not, when and where was the last place to outlaw the practice?

Someone
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Mr. A
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    Incidentally, dueling was illegal in a lot of places long before it went out of fashion. – cpast Nov 07 '15 at 21:35
  • I suppose you mean duelling outside of organised competition (e.g. fencing)? Also, for the last duel this answer from History SE may be informative. – jimsug Nov 08 '15 at 00:22
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    You could add this: In which countries is killing or injuring a person in a fair duel treated substantially different from murder or assault or battery? – gnasher729 Dec 15 '15 at 23:37
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    Also, this depends on the definition of "dueling". Arguably, boxing could be considered a form of duel, at least in the sense that injuring the opponent (inflicting a concussion) is the goal. I imagine some cultures may allow or tolerate practices that fall somehwere in the spectrum between a "duel" as understood in Europe or the USA, and things like boxing. – sleske Jan 27 '17 at 14:23
  • It was outlawed, on a state by state basis, in most U.S. states where it had been legal in the 19th century, often with a provision in a state constitution to that effect. So the last jurisdiction to have outlawed it couldn't have been any later than the late 19th century and was probably more recent. Also, I don't think that all forms of combat by agreement constitute duels. A duel assumes that the purpose of combat by agreement is to resolve a dispute or failure to apologize for an affront to someone's honor. Combat by agreement to see who is a better fighter is not a duel. – ohwilleke Jan 30 '17 at 03:12
  • @sleske more specifically, until one party gave up. That may have required a knock out blow, but also knock down. Men encouraged this to boys with disagreements: fight honorably, and then shake hands when one is defeated. – RonJohn Jul 19 '23 at 13:49

2 Answers2

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According to Wikipedia, duelling was legal in Uruguay from 1921 to 1971. It cites this article and I have found in the source that the law was passed in 1920, although I haven't found that it ended in 1971. However, several politically motivated duels were fought in Uruguay in 1971, and one newspaper claimed at least one of them to be legal.

Pere
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There are many parts of the world that are still tribal and governed by tribal laws. (e.g., Many parts of Central America, South America, Africa, Afghanistan, outside of Kabul, etc.)

I would imagine dueling is probably legal in one or more of those places.

Alexanne Senger
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