Effect of Ignorance of the Law in Criminal Responsibility According To the Imami Jurisprudence

One of the conditions of penalties, besides criminal behavior, is the authentication of criminal situation in a way we can attribute this action to its doer. This criminal capacity has two principles: knowledge and free will. If the doer is unaware to the law, it is called "Ignorance of Law", which has four kinds: intentional delinquent ignorance, non-intentional delinquent ignorance, intentional non- delinquent ignorance, and non-intentional non- delinquent ignorance. Considering the authentication of criminal situation, it can be said that ignorance of law removes criminal responsibility. According to the Islamic rules, non-intentional ignorance of law removes any kind of criminal responsibility.