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A mistake of law is a subjective ground for criminal irresponsibility. This is provided for in Article 122-3 of the Penal Code: "A person is not criminally responsible if they can prove that, due to a mistake of law that they could not have avoided, they believed they were legitimately entitled to commit the act." It is important to understand from the outset that a mistake of law does not invalidate the presumption of knowledge of the law mentioned in the introduction. Moreover, the principle of legality of offenses and penalties reinforces this presumption of knowledge, since individuals are required to be aware of the law in order to avoid committing criminal acts. Therefore, one cannot plead ignorance of the law to evade criminal responsibility. The fact that someone has not read the article concerning theft or murder does not absolve the offender of their responsibilities due to a mistake of law. A mistake of law is almost a case of "gross ignorance." It concerns the existence, interpretation, or scope of the rule of law. Case law is therefore excluded from this definition. Furthermore, the mistake only applies to intentional offenses: unintentional offenses, such as manslaughter, can still lead to criminal liability for the perpetrator. However, two conditions are necessary to establish a mistake: first, there must be an insurmountable, unavoidable error. In other words, the individual involved could only be led to make a mistake! This is particularly the case when a competent authority has made an error by providing false information. For example, when a driver whose French driver's license had been revoked was issued a certificate by a police officer assuring him that he could drive with his international driving permit (French Court of Cassation, Criminal Chamber, May 11, 2006, 05-87.099). However, this only applies to errors caused by public authorities: erroneous advice from legal professionals is excluded (French Court of Cassation, Criminal Chamber, January 7, 2004, No. 03-82.337). Therefore, it is pointless to hide behind the dubious advice of your lawyer who told you how to legally commit murder or tax fraud. It is also pointless to hide behind the company lawyer who told you that, yes indeed, making your employees work 18 hours straight and locking them in the office was in accordance with the Labor Code. The second condition is that of a mistaken belief in the right to act. The perpetrator must have been certain, at the time of the act, that they were acting in accordance with the law. The perpetrator must believe they were not committing an offense. The error must be excusable, particularly because the perpetrator sought information (French Supreme Court, Criminal Division, May 13, 2003, No. 02-84.028). If the perpetrator has the slightest doubt about the legality of their actions, the error of law must be dismissed. Definition of #erroroflaw in #criminallaw in ABCJuris's video #legaldictionary ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ OTHER VIDEOS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ► CRIMINAL LAW    • DROIT PÉNAL 🔤   ► PERPETRATOR AND ACCOMPLICE in criminal law 🔤    • AUTEUR ET COMPLICE en droit pénal 🔤   ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTERS ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 00:00 Introduction 00:46 Definition 03:57 Summary 04:47 Conclusion ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ABOUT THIS VIDEO ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Legal Dictionary in Video #LegalDictionaryinVideo Fanny Cornette Law    • ERREUR DE DROIT en droit pénal 🔤   DISCLAIMER: Legal Dictionary in Video regularly shares links to products and services used by the team that we find useful. We use affiliate links when possible. If you click on one of the links to make a purchase, we may receive a small commission.