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Awe · 03-09-2015, 08:59 AM

Wolf had submitted a Legal Question to seek the opinion of the Courts on whether crimes that were not crimes at the time of the offence can be retroactively applied to criminals.

In RL situations, there is a constitutional protection against such incidents, including in some nations that where the penalty has been increased between the time of the offence, and the time of sentencing, the lesser penalty should apply, except in some circumstances.

Personally, I am of the opinion that crimes that were otherwise legal at the time of the offence should not be retroactively applied to criminals.

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Hopolis · 03-09-2015, 03:33 PM

The answer in short form is that the TSP Code of Laws was never meant to be tested - clearly evident by not actually having procedures for trials since the charter was adopted - and is therefore so full of holes that it makes a sieve look solid.

As far as I can see, there is no precedent, or statute of limitations, or law relating to retrospective charges. It seems inherently unfair to be charged with a crime that wasn't a crime when you did it. However, given there is no conflict in law (due to no law) to reconcile I'd be inclined to decline to answer the question and refer the matter to the Assembly as per the Charter:

Quote:5. The Court Justices shall have the authority to examine laws and make recommendations to the Assembly, however they may not issue an arbitrary judgement or opinion on laws without a specific legal question being filed.

But accompany it with the recommendation that a Statute of Limitations be introduced including retrospective crimes.

EDIT: I see Unibot has already beaten us on that one. I'm really feeling the love as a Justice about now.

(This post was last modified: 03-09-2015, 03:43 PM by Overseer Staedtler.)

Awe · 03-17-2015, 01:56 PM

I'd appreciate more opinions on this

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Aramanchovia · 03-17-2015, 05:20 PM

As far as I can tell, we cannot legally answer this. We can only make a recommendation, as Hopolis mentioned.

I personally don't think you should be able to be charged retroactively for crimes that weren't at the time. Nobody can predict the future. This is not a legal opinion though, as I can't find anything in the legislation either way.

Awe · 03-18-2015, 10:30 AM

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HCLQ1507

- 18.03.15 -

Petitioner

Wolf

Presiding Justices

Awe, Aramanchovia, Hopolis

Non-Presiding Justice

Farengeto

Well, Frak was banned from LWU and DoS when I got citizenship. Can I be accused of a crime that might have been committed before I was a citizen?

Also, is Frak a declared Security Threat in TSP? I don't even know.

Furthermore, LWU never aided Frak in anything having to do with TSP, and no evidence even exists to support that idea. Was he in the group? Sure. However, Belschaft is in TNP, does that mean we start accusing Tomb of treason for allowing Bel citizenship there?

I do have a legal question for the Court, however. Did these current laws I am being accused of breaking exist, as they are written now, in 2011? If not, can I still be charged for something that wasn't a crime back then? I honestly don't know TSP law well enough to know if you can be charged with a crime ex post facto.

Majority Opinion

Awe, Aramanchovia, Hopolis

After careful deliberation, the High Court issues the following judgement in response to the Legal Question submitted by Wolf.

It is in the opinion of the High Court that is unable to rule on the basis of what is written in law with regards to whether ex post facto law applies in the South Pacific, due to the lack of legal provisions clarifying the matter.

Notwithstanding the lack of legal provisions, it is in the opinion of all Court Justices participating in this ruling that ex post facto law should not apply in the South Pacific and there should further be a statute of limitations to clarify the length of time for which an individual is liable for an offence, particularly so if the penalty for the offence has been modified in between the time of the offence and the time of sentencing.

Hence, the High Court strongly urges the Assembly to enact provisions clarifying this matter.

Note: In light of the lack of legal provisions in South Pacific law, the Court has used rulings on ex post facto law in real-world jurisdictions as the primary terms of reference to arrive at the following conclusions:

That crimes are not permitted to apply retroactively and there are legal and constitutional protections to that effect
If the penalty for an offence has been modified between the time of the offence and time of sentencing, the lesser penalty should apply (in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

The legal opinion above includes recommendations by the Court Justices after analysing relevant ex post facto provisions in real-world jurisdictions. These recommendations do not have any legal effect on South Pacific law unless enacted through legislation by the Assembly and are not representative of a judgement rendered by the High Court.

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(This post was last modified: 03-18-2015, 10:35 AM by Qwert.)

Hopolis · 03-18-2015, 06:33 PM

I'm happy with it. And thank you Awe for carrying a lot of the work in preparing the judgements to be published recently. Work and my father being ill has kept me from engaging as much as I'd like for the last couple of weeks.

Aramanchovia · 03-18-2015, 08:34 PM

Looks good to me too.

I have also been much busier than usual with work lately, with a major contract thay has recently commenced already having big issues, so your work on these responses is definitely appreciated.

Awe · 03-18-2015, 11:54 PM

Thanks guys. Response is ready for release.

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