Why is dueling nowadays illegal?

[Anonymous]

Sorry if my question sounds crazy or stupid; I just finished watching a movie set in the Middle Ages, when duels of honor were a common practice, so this is what prompted me to ask this question.

If two adults both consent to a duel, then why is it illegal? I'd be really interested in hearing the rationale behind this. Shouldn't people have a right to do as they please with their lives? if people wish to put their life on the line in a duel, it's none of my business. (The fight could take place in a secure place so that other people can't get hurt by one of the combatants.)

[Tyrael]

You mean dueling to the death? It was normally undertaken by young nobles, because the poor just killed each other without the ceremony.

The issue with lots of young nobles offing each other in duels is that it wasted years of costly education, put lines of succession at risk, and left the royalty with less nobles to call upon in times of war. And as time went on, the legal system became more just and so it was important to enforce the rule of courts by not giving the option of a duel as that would undermine the whole process.

And I'm sure there's many other reasons.

[NamerOfStars]

They were illegal back then, too; that's why they were typically done at dawn (in addition to the lack of an advantage to one side due to sun position); it was the time when guard and police shifts would change, so you'd most likely be able to get away with it.

It's illegal for the same reason: murder is murder, whether under agreed-upon terms or not.

[exitseven]

That is a good question. You can do all kinds of dangerous stuff like bungee jumping do why not duels?

[RolandCuthbert]

It isn't many states have observe a law called "mutual combatants".

[LiamJHayden]

It still is, just not the nearly automatically deadly kind.