Nulla poena sine lege

Nulla poena sine lege

Nulla poena sine lege (Latin: "no penalty without a law") is a legal principle, requiring that one cannot be punished for doing something that is not prohibited by law. This principle is accepted as just and upheld by the penal codes of constitutional states, including virtually all modern democracies. It is related to the principle of "nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali", which means penal law cannot be enacted retroactively.

One complexity is the lawmaking power of judges under common law. Even in civil law systems that do not admit judge-made law, it is not always clear when the function of interpretation of the criminal law ends and judicial lawmaking begins.

The question of jurisdiction may sometimes come to contradict this principle. For example, customary international law allows the prosecution of pirates by any country (applying universal jurisdiction), even if they did not commit crimes at the area that falls under this country's law. A similar principle has appeared in the recent decades with regard to crimes of genocide (see genocide as a crime under domestic law); and UN Security Council Resolution 1674 "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity"[1] even if the State in which the population is being assaulted does not recognise these assaults as a breach of domestic law. However, it seems that universal jurisdiction is not to be expanded substantially to other crimes, so as to satisfy Nulla poena sine lege.

The argument has been proposed that this exercise does not violate nulla poena sine lege, since these acts, even if not prohibited under the law of any country, are in violation of international law, which many legal theorists view as being equally law. However, this view depends on accepting as law mere intent, presumption and personal preference, rather than something that has been formally codified, which is a step many legal practicians are not quite prepared to make, all theories aside.

Natural law theorists or divine command theorists would further add that nulla poena sine lege is not violated if the punished act is against natural law or the law of God, respectively, even if it violates no positive law.[citation needed]

See also

Notes

References

  • Mokhtar, A. (2005). "Nullum Crimen, Nulla Poena Sine Lege: Aspects and Prospects". Statute Law Review 26: 41. doi:10.1093/slr/hmi005. 

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  • Nulla poena sine lege — es una frase latina, que se traduce como No hay pena sin ley , utilizada para expresar que no puede sancionarse una conducta si la ley no la califica como delito. Es un principio consagrado positivamente en numerosos códigos penales en los… …   Wikipedia Español

  • nulla poena sine lege — no penalty without law . This principle opposes, among other things, arbitrary punishment and retrospective legislation. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary

  • Nulla poena sine lege — Der Grundsatz nulla poena sine lege (lat.) bedeutet wörtlich übersetzt „keine Strafe ohne Gesetz“ und wird als Rückwirkungsverbot im Strafrecht bezeichnet. Er wurde von Anselm von Feuerbach formuliert. Danach kann eine Kriminalstrafe nur dann die …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • nulla poena sine lege — nụlla poena sine lege   [ pøna ; lateinisch »keine Strafe ohne Gesetz«], Grundsatz im Strafrecht, nach dem eine Tat nur dann bestraft werden kann, wenn Strafbarkeit und Strafe gesetzlich bestimmt werden, bevor die Tat begangen wurde (auch:… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Nulla poena sine lege poenale — (lat.), keine Strafe ohne eine strafrechtliche Bestimmung, die sie ausspricht. Ein Rechtssprichwort, das sagen will, daß nur die im Gesetz ausdrücklich mit Strafe bedrohten Handlungen strafbar und nur die im Gesetz ausdrücklich festgesetzten… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Nulla poena sine lege praevia — Der Grundsatz nulla poena sine lege (lat.) bedeutet wörtlich übersetzt: „Keine Strafe ohne Gesetz“ und wird als Rückwirkungsverbot im Strafrecht bezeichnet. Er wurde von Anselm von Feuerbach formuliert. Danach kann eine Kriminalstrafe nur dann… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • nulla poena sine lege — nul|la poe|na si|ne le|ge [ pø:na ] <lat. ; »keine Strafe ohne Gesetz«> Grundsatz des Strafrechts, nach dem bei der Festsetzung einer Strafe nur ein bereits zur Tatzeit geltendes Gesetz angewendet werden darf …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • nulla poena sine lege — nụl|la poe|na si|ne le|ge <lateinisch, »keine Strafe ohne Gesetz«> …   Die deutsche Rechtschreibung

  • Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege — Principe de légalité en droit pénal  Ne doit pas être confondu avec Principe de légalité en droit administratif …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali — (Latin, lit. No crime, no punishment without a previous penal law ) is a basic maxim in continental European legal thinking. It was written by Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach as part of the Bavarian Criminal Code in 1813. The maxim itself …   Wikipedia

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