The principle of legality in criminal law was developed in the eighteenth century by the Italian criminal lawyer

Cesare Beccaria Cesare Bonesana di Beccaria, Marquis of Gualdrasco and Villareggio (; 15 March 173828 November 1794) was an Italian criminologist, jurist, philosopher, economist and politician, who is widely considered one of the greatest thinkers of the Age ...

and holds that no one can only be convicted of a crime without a previously published legal text which clearly describes the crime. In Latin: , this principle is accepted and codified in modern democratic states as a basic requirement of the

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannic ...

. It has been described as "one of the most 'widely held value-judgement in the entire history of human thought'"

By country

Canada

In Canada, the principle of legality in penal law is found in Article 9 of the

Canadian Criminal Code The ''Criminal Code'' (french: Code criminel)The citation of this Act by these short titles is authorised by thEnglishantexts of section 1. is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is ''An ...

which declares that criminal infractions must fall under Canadian law, and that no one may be found guilty of a criminal infraction under

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

. The principle of legality is also mentioned in Article 11g: Every defendant has a right to not be found guilty of an action or omission which, at the moment it took place, did not constitute an infraction under the internal law of Canada..." Article 11g does however make an exception for crimes unanimously considered in international law to be

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

France

The principle of legality in France (french: link=no, principe de légalité) goes back to the

Penal Code of 1791 The French Penal Code of 1791 was a penal code adopted during the French Revolution by the Constituent Assembly, between 25 September and 6 October 1791. It was France's first penal code, and was influenced by the Enlightenment thinking of Monte ...

adopted during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. The principle has its origins in the 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revol ...

, which endows it with constitutional force and limits the conditions in which citizens may be punished for infractions.,

Germany

In Germany, Article 103, paragraph 2 of the ''

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...

'' (German Constitution) bans retroactive criminality: Enacted after the fall of the Nazi régime, it was reaffirmed in a court decision concerning the actions of East German officials.

Switzerland

Article 1 of the

Swiss Criminal Code , french: Code pénal suisse (CP), it, Codice penale svizzero (CP), rm, Cudesch penal svizzer , citation = , territorial_extent = Switzerland , enacted_by = Federal Assembly of Switzerland , date_enacted = 20 Decemb ...

provides that a penalty may only be pronounced for an action expressly forbidden by law. An "illegal" action may be "licit" in Switzerland if there is a justifying circumstance, such as legitimate defense or necessity.Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
/ref>

United States

In the United States, the Fifth Amendment of the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nati ...

contains the concept of ''

due process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual per ...

''. Retroactive criminal laws are forbidden in Article I of the Constitution, section 10, paragraph 1.

References

;Notes

Works cited

* * * * * * * * {{Authority control Legal doctrines and principles