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).
Related provisions
- Article 2 — publication, which makes this presumption fair.
- Article 5 — acts against mandatory or prohibitory laws are void.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.
Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment (Republic Act No. 386), verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings. The annotation and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. How a provision applies to a particular situation depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your case can assess.