법에 대한 접근가능성과 예측가능성 - 추밀원의 The Pitcairn Islands 사건판결이 시사하는 점

The writer deals with the following points in this article, namely, rule of law, prohibition of ex post facto law and ignorance of law through The Pitcairn Islands cases. The first. the essential requirements of the principle of law are accessability to law and foreseeability thereof. The second. When the constitution of a state stipulates a provision of ex post facto law or prohibition of retroactive punishment, that provision can likewise be applied to the change of case law. Even though the case law in question does not go with the existing case law but the questioned case law corresponds to 「the reasonably foreseeable development of the law」, the changed case law in question does not contravene the principle of ex post facto law or prohibition of retroactive punishment. The third. Ignorantia juris non excusat. But this maxim must be considered with the notion of promulgation of the relevant law, and accessibility to and foreseeability of law. This sort of consideration makes sense especially with the authorization act. As the ignorance of law does not make an excuse, so the ignorance of law does not mean the lack of mens rea. But Lord Woolf raised the possibility of the lack of mens rea when the accessibility and foreseeability do not virtually exist.