El pecado original: Ignorantia juris non excusat

Abstract

This article offers a socio-legal analysis of the principle: nemini licet ignorare jus (ignorance of the law is not an excuse to a criminal charge), whose existence in the field of modern criminal law has been put into question or even excluded. By employing three different-but complementary-approaches, this article identifies limitations of the principle nemini licet ignorare jus, which render its application ineffective. These approaches are: First, a pragmatic approach, which evaluates the real utility of the principle in the field of criminal law. Second, a sociological approach which analyzes the main social conflict originated from the application of this principle. Third, a dogmatic legal approach which focuses on the compatibility or incompatibility of such a principle with the Ecuadorian constitutional law. Finally, this article seeks to justify the exclusion of the principle nemini licet ignorare jus from the Ecuadorian criminal legislation, leaving the debate that other elements together with cultural diversity must be taken into account in the error of prohibition.