Criminal Law has no retrospective effect

Sampada Karki
Dhiroj Basnet
 TABLE OF CONTENT

• Introduction
• What is criminal law?
• Retrospective effect
• The Principle of Legality
• Arguments against retrospective laws
• Conclusion
 What is criminal law?

• Criminal law is a branch of law that deals with crimes and

their punishments.
• The purpose of criminal law is to maintain social order,
protect individual rights, and deter criminal behavior.
• Criminal law also serves as a deterrent to potential
criminals.
• For example, laws against assault and murder help to
prevent violent crimes and protect individuals' right to life
and bodily integrity.
 Retrospective effect

• Retrospective effect, also known as retroactive

effect, refers to the application of a law to past
events or actions.
• Retrospective effect means that a person can be
punished for an action that was not considered a
crime at the time it was committed.
• This principle is highly controversial and has been
the subject of much debate in legal circles.
• Allowing retrospective effect in criminal cases can have
serious consequences.
• For example, imagine a situation where a government
passes a new law making something illegal that was
previously legal. If this law is given retrospective effect,
people who engaged in that activity before the law was
passed could be punished for their actions.
• This would be unfair, as they had no way of knowing
that their actions were illegal at the time.
 The Principle of Legality

• It states that an individual cannot be punished for an act

that was not considered illegal at the time it was
committed.
• This principle is essential in ensuring that individuals are
aware of the laws they must abide by, and that they are
not punished for actions that were previously legal.
• In the context of retrospective effect, the principle of
legality is crucial in determining whether a law can be
applied retroactively.
If a law is passed that criminalizes an action that was
previously legal, it cannot be applied retroactively
because it would violate the principle of legality.
• Therefore, the principle of legality acts as a
safeguard against arbitrary and unjust punishment.
 Arguments Against
Retrospective Effect
• One of the main argument against retrospective
effect in criminal law is that it violates the principle
of legality.
• Allowing retrospective effect, goes against the
fundamental principles of justice and fairness.
• It undermines the rule of law as it requires that laws
be clear, predictable, and applied consistently.
• Allowing retrospective effect would create
unpredictability in the law, as individuals could
never be sure whether their actions would be
considered illegal in the future.
• This would erode public trust in the legal system
and make it more difficult to enforce the law.
 Case Laws

• The law of limitation has no retrospective effect.

Hari Pd vs Bhadra Pd Kharel" relates to fraud
(jalsanji) in the question of partition of property.
The old law related to fraud had made 2 years
provision as limitation time to file a suit. The 2059
BS amendment gave 6 months peiod from the date
of knowledge of such fraud to file a suit.
• The 2059 BS amendment gave 6 months peiod from the
date of knowledge of such fraud to file a suit. The later
enactment obviously is liberal compared to previous one.
In this case, the plaintiff brought an action against his co-
parcerners to annual the previous partition claiming that it
was a fraud. But he based his claim relying on limitation
time stated in later amendment. The court dismissed his
claim, holding the opinion that the time and limitation of
later amendment did not apply to an action which was
performed and settled as per the existing old law.
 Conclusion
In conclusion, criminal law serves an important
purpose in society by deterring criminal behavior and
protecting individuals from harm.
• However, allowing criminal law to have
retrospective effect can lead to unjust outcomes and
undermine the principle of legality.
• Therefore, it is crucial that we maintain the
principle of legality and prevent criminal law from
having retrospective effect.