The accessibility of a law and "ignorantia juris non excusat": formal and legal aspects of legal certainty

• Main Authors: Dzhamilya S. Velieva, Marina V. Markhgeym, Mikhail V. Presnyakov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editorial AAR 2021-05-01
• Series: Laplage em Revista
• Subjects: Accessibility of a law; Legal certainty; Presumption of legal knowledge; Promulgation of the law; Enactment
• Online Access: https://laplageemrevista.editorialaar.com/index.php/lpg1/article/view/881

This article is devoted to the first and most obvious requirement of legal certainty - the accessibility of a law. The subject of this research is the formal accessibility of the text of the law. The objective was to analyze the imperative of accessibility of a law in its relationship with the presumption of legal knowledge, as well as the its remedies. As a result of the study, the authors have concluded that the presumption of legal knowledge (expressed, among other things, by the maxim, ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility), as a condition of its existence and action, presupposes compliance with the requirement of accessibility of a law. The nature of the presumption of legal knowledge and the nullity of a legal error has been studied. Particular attention is paid to the way to ensure the accessibility of a law; in particular, the authors outline a number of problems associated with the promulgation and enactment of regulations.