Law students follow the Law. It’s only logical. As a Law student, you’re expected to know what is legal and what is not. In reality, even though ignorance of the law is not an excuse for anyone, your presumed knowledge of the law raises the bar for you. Yet, many Law students happen to engage in acts that might seem “normal” because a lot of people do them, but which are actually illegal. Did any example come to mind? In this article, we go through four illegal things to avoid as a Law student, even though they seem normal.
Note These 4 Illegal Things to Avoid as a Law Student
We’re not talking about theft, substance abuse, and other obvious things people are often jailed for. In this article, we’re talking about these –
- Plagiarism
- Downloading copyrighted material online for free
- Examination malpractice
- Doing assignments for others
Did any surprise you? Let’s take a closer look at them.
1. Plagiarism
While some plagiarise the work of others on purpose, it is all too easy to do it unintentionally.
What does it involve?
Taking another person’s thoughts, ideas, and opinions and presenting them as yours without credit to the owner is plagiarism.
Is it actually illegal?
While there is no direct provision in Nigerian legislation that directly spells plagiarism as a crime, the fact is that plagiarism can be illegal. How so?
If it happens that the work you reproduced without the permission of (or at least credits to its owner) is copyrighted material, then your plagiarism becomes copyright infringement. By the provisions of Section 17 of the Copyright Act,that means you have breached the statutory duty you owe the copyright holder. For that, the copyright holder can bring an action against you in court, and he/she would be entitled to damages, an injunction and any other remedies that the court may deem fit to award in the circumstances.
But can you actually go to jail for plagiarising?
Yes. Section 18 of the Copyright Act says you can get an imprisonment term of two or up to five years for infringing on a person’s copyright for commercial purposes.
2. Downloading copyrighted material online for free
This is a classic ‘normal but illegal’ act that Law students, who know how intellectual property rights work, must do well to avoid.
What does it involve?
It’s easy, with so many free download sites on the internet, to download books, songs, movies, courses, and other copyrighted material for free. If the sites do not have the author’s permission to make their work available for free redistribution (as is often the case), then your free download is copyright infringement.
Is it actually illegal?
As we’ve seen, under Sections 17 and 18 of the Copyright Act, copyright infringement can attract an imprisonment term. Penalty can also be in the form of a fine, or both imprisonment and a fine. Even if you do not distribute the work for commercial purposes, you can still be on the receiving end of a lawsuit. The court may ask you to pay damages or order some other relief in favour of the copyright holder.
3. Examination malpractice
It’s often said it is better to fail honourably than to cheat one’s way through an exam. However, besides being unethical, examination malpractice is actually against the law.
What does it involve?
Essentially, all conduct that is contrary to exam guidelines is exam malpractice. Cheating, obstruction of supervisors, disturbing during an exam, impersonation, forging result slips, or any other act that gives you an unfair advantage over others in an exam, are all classified as exam malpractice.
Is it actually illegal?
As you may have guessed at this point, yes, it is. There is an entire Act that criminalises all forms of examination malpractice – the Examination Malpractices Act (No. 33 1999).
Section 1(2) of the Examination Malpractices Act, for example, provides that the punishment for cheating in an examination in the case of a person under the age of eighteen years is “a fine of N1100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both such fine and imprisonment; … in any other case, to imprisonment for a term of three years without the option of a fine.”
In other words, you’re definitely going to go to jail if you’re older than 18 and you’re convicted of cheating on an examination. For the meaning of “cheating” and the full list of crimes and penalties under the Act, give the Act a quick read. It only has 20 sections.
4. Doing assignments for others
This is very common among undergraduates, and there are several reasons why one may do an assignment for another.
What this involves is pretty straightforward.
Is it actually illegal?
Whether you’re paid or you do it for free, as a friend, it’s really Illegal to do assignments for others and have them pass the work off as theirs. After all, assignments are usually a form of examination, being a part of one’s continuous assessment.
Moreso, Acts which establish universities empower the school authorities to discipline students guilty of misconduct and to prescribe rules, including what qualifies as misconduct. This means that you may be punished for an act of cheating, such as doing assignments for others, and so could the person(s) whose assignments you did.
So, politely turn down requests to write out an assignment for a friend. Rather, offer to brainstorm and work on it together.
If you offer your service of helping people do their homework/assignments in exchange for a fee, this is the time to reconsider that income stream if you really want to be on the side of the Law.
Bottom Line
How many of these illegal activities have you participated in, even though you’re studying or you studied Law? (You don’t have to tell us.) To reiterate, ignorance is not an excuse for the commission of a crime.
If, however, we were to assume you didn’t know any of these were illegal, now you know better. And if you’ve never engaged in any of these activities, your kind is rare.
By steering clear of illegal activities that others might deem “normal”, you would truly be meeting the standards expected of a Law student.
We’ve also put together a few mistakes Law students make, which, although not illegal, can have a negative impact. Find that here.
