LAWS OF GHANA SIMPLIFIED

The Lartin Term "IGNORANTIA JURIS NON EXCUSAT" means ignorance of the law is no excuse. This term simply means that if you do not know that something is unlawful and you do such an unlawful act, it's consequence will still be visited on you. For example, you cannot say that you did not know that touching someone without the person's consent is an assault. You will not be excused for not knowing it's a crime. Under Section 29 (2) of the Criminal Offence Act of Ghana, this Lartin term has been codified and so it's no longer just a common law maxim but a law passed by parliament of Ghana. The said section says as follow: " A person shall not, except as in this Code otherwise expressly provided, be exempt from liability to punishment for any act on the ground of ignorance that the act is prohibited by law. " In simple terms, you are expected to know any law in Ghana whether you know in fact or not. Public Policy is that, it will be impracticable t...