Legal Definitions - jus incognitum

Jus incognitum refers to a law that is either unknown to the general public and legal practitioners, or has become obsolete and is no longer enforced or relevant in modern legal practice. While such a law might technically still be "on the books" or part of a legal code, it is effectively dormant, forgotten, or superseded by newer legal developments.

• Example 1: An Obsolete Town Ordinance

  Imagine a small, historic town that has an ordinance from the early 1900s prohibiting the flying of kites in the town square on Tuesdays. This ordinance was never formally repealed, but over the decades, it has been completely forgotten. No one has flown a kite in the town square on any day for many years, and local law enforcement officers are unaware of its existence. If someone were to fly a kite on a Tuesday, they would likely not be cited because the law is unknown and unenforced.

  This ordinance is a classic example of jus incognitum because it is an obsolete law that remains technically valid but is unknown to current residents and authorities, and is no longer applied in practice.

• Example 2: A Superseded State Regulation

  Consider a state that, many decades ago, enacted a very specific regulation requiring all public libraries to maintain a physical card catalog for their entire collection. Over time, with the advent of digital databases and online catalog systems, every library in the state transitioned to electronic records. Although the original regulation was never formally repealed by the state legislature, it is universally ignored, and no library still uses a physical card catalog. State auditors and legal experts acknowledge that the regulation is effectively dead, even if not officially removed from the statute books.

  Here, the state regulation is jus incognitum because it has become obsolete due to technological advancements and changes in standard practice, rendering it effectively unknown and unenforced in its original form.