European Convention on Human Rights

ECHR - Article 7: Retroactivity

Article 7 – retroactivity

Main article: Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights

See also: Ex post facto law

Article 7 prohibits the retroactive criminalisation of acts and omissions. No person may be punished for an act that was not a criminal offence at the time of its commission. The article states that a criminal offence is one under either national or international law, which would permit a party to prosecute someone for a crime which was not illegal under domestic law at the time, so long as it was prohibited by international law. The Article also prohibits a heavier penalty being imposed than was applicable at the time when the criminal act was committed.

Article 7 incorporates the legal principle nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege into the convention.

Relevant cases are:

· Kokkinakis v. Greece [1993] ECHR 20

· S.A.S. v. France [2014] ECHR 69