Text of the provision
Art. 3. Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith.
(2)
Civil Code of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 386, approved June 18, 1949, effective August 30, 1950. Reproduced in full; verified verbatim against the LawPhil and ChanRobles official-text renderings.
What this article means
The maxim ignorantia legis neminem excusat. Once a law is duly published and in force, no one may escape it by claiming they did not know it — otherwise laws would bind only the informed. The rule concerns ignorance of law, not of fact; a genuine mistake of fact may still excuse in proper cases (compare Article 1331 on mistake as a vice of consent, once built).
Questions about this provision
Related provisions
- Article 2 — publication, which makes this presumption fair.
- Article 5 — acts against mandatory or prohibitory laws are void.
Cases citing this article
- Rommel Genio y Santos vs. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 261666, January 24, 2024 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Civil Service Commission vs. Marilou T. Rodriguez, G.R. No. 248255, August 27, 2020 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon vs. Eufrocina Carlos Dionisio and Winifredo Salcedo Molina, G.R. No. 220700, July 10, 2017 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Leonardo Acabal, et al. vs. Villaner Acabal, et al, G.R. No. 148376, March 31, 2005 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- D.M. Consunji, Inc., vs. Court of Appeals, et al, G.R. No. 137873, April 20, 2001 — read the decision on LawPhil →
Compiled automatically from Supreme Court decisions published on LawPhil that expressly cite this article, most frequently cited first. A listing means the decision cites the provision — it is not a statement that the case is the leading authority, and it does not show whether a ruling has since been modified or abandoned. Always read the decision itself.