Ignoratia juris non excusat

Ignoratia juris non excusat meaning

Ignoratia juris non excusat is a fundamental premise of the law that "ignorance of the law is no excuse," and this maxim is often used. Mistake committed due to ignorance of the law. Mens rea does not need the defendant to have knowledge that his actions or omissions were in violation of the law and constituted a crime in order for there to be a conviction for a criminal offence; ignorance or misconception of the law is not a valid defence to a criminal accusation. Even if you were really unaware that you were breaching the law at the time, you cannot use the fact that you were unaware of their illegality as a defence for the activities you took.

law books

We at Law Tutor are leaders in private law tutoring and legal education for all law courses. Use Law Tutor's law books and notes for the LLB degree, PGDL and other legal courses. Law Tutor is a former university law lecturer and barrister.