Can one plead ignorance of law?

Law is one of the social institutions that bind all citizens; both young and old. This is because from cradle to grave, man is governed by laws.

That is to say that the law regulates the entirety of man's existence, activities, properties and general conduct throughout his lifetime and beyond.

This observation aligns with the lucid thought of Antiedu which he shared at the launch of his law book titled Reading the Law, “We’re born into the law; we live within the law and we die according to the law.”

Fact

The fact of the indispensability and iniquitousness of law in our lives requires every member of the society of sound mind and legal age to have full knowledge of the laws of the country and to obey them all.

Thus, a person of legal age and sound mind who fails to access the law and to know its contents cannot be availed by his ignorance of the law if found to be in conflict with the law.

The rule has gained considerable currency during the trial, conviction and incarceration of Rosemond Brown alias Akuapem Poloo in April 2021.

Upon her release following a successful application for bail pending appeal, the author is quoted to have said: “I didn’t know that taking a photograph with my son in that manner would put me in trouble.”

 Ignorance of law no defence

Ignorance of law means a lack of knowledge of the law. The Common Law rule states that a person of legal age and sound mind is not permitted to plead that he did not know about the existence of the law to avoid legal liability.

The rule is found in Section 29(2) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) as follows:

“A person shall not be exempt from liability to punishment for any activity on the ground of ignorance that the act is prohibited by law."

The rationale behind the rule is that if ignorance of the law is accepted as an excuse, any person charged with a criminal offence or sued in a civil action would claim that he or she was unaware of the law in question just to avoid the liability attached to that breach.

Implications rule on ordinary Ghanaian

The rule is predicated on the presumption that the people have full knowledge of the laws of the land or that they have unfettered access to the laws but they have refused to acquaint themselves with the laws.

This is, however, not the case in Ghana. About 27.5 per cent of Ghanaians are illiterates and lack the capacity to acquire knowledge of the law (based on the 2010 Population and Housing Census).

Conclusion, recommendations

There are also a group of literate Ghanaians who have little or no access to the laws of Ghana and lack knowledge of our laws.

While endorsing the purpose of the rule to ensure that the law works to achieve its objects, the writers also recognise the fact that the strict application of the rule would occasion a manifest injustice against ordinary Ghanaians who may be punished for a crime they knew nothing about.

It is strongly recommended the establishment of a system that would ensure that there is continuous public legal education to address the knowledge gap and also make the law more accessible to the citizenry.

This system, which would be led by the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), should take advantage of the opportunities offered by information and communications technology including social media platforms for the education of the public and for making the laws more accessible to the people.

This system would promote obedience to the law, protect innocent citizens from breaking laws unknown to them, create a peaceful country and enhance the welfare of the people of Ghana.

 The writers are a Private Legal Practitioner/Author & Legal Researcher, respectively