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Ex Post Facto Law

The document discusses ex post facto laws, which are prohibited by the Philippine Constitution. An ex post facto law (1) criminalizes actions that were legal when committed, (2) increases punishment compared to when the crime was committed, (3) alters rules of evidence to make conviction easier, (4) imposes penalties under the guise of regulating civil rights, or (5) deprives someone of legal protections like double jeopardy. Ex post facto laws apply retroactively and are prejudicial to the accused. The lawmaking body is not allowed to enact ex post facto laws as they are not in favor of the accused.

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Alyssa Guevarra
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71 views1 page

Ex Post Facto Law

The document discusses ex post facto laws, which are prohibited by the Philippine Constitution. An ex post facto law (1) criminalizes actions that were legal when committed, (2) increases punishment compared to when the crime was committed, (3) alters rules of evidence to make conviction easier, (4) imposes penalties under the guise of regulating civil rights, or (5) deprives someone of legal protections like double jeopardy. Ex post facto laws apply retroactively and are prejudicial to the accused. The lawmaking body is not allowed to enact ex post facto laws as they are not in favor of the accused.

Uploaded by

Alyssa Guevarra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Alyssa Mae F.

Guevarra Legal Research

Block 2 – Juris Doctor September 13, 2019

Ex Post Facto Law

There are limitations on the power of the lawmaking body to enact penal legislation. (Reyes,

2012). One of them is “no ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. (Article 3, Sec 22,

1987 Constitution).

An ex post facto law is one which: (1) makes an action done before the passing of the law,

and which was innocent when done, criminal, and punishes such action. (2) aggravates the crime or

makes it greater than when it was committed. (3) changes the punishment and inflicts a greater

punishment than that which the law annexed to the crime when it was committed. (4) alters the legal

rules of evidence and receives less testimony than the law required at the time of the commission of

the offense in order to convict the accused. (5) assumes to regulate civil rights and remedies only

BUT, in effect, imposes a penalty or deprivation of a right, which, when done, was lawful. (6)

deprives a person accused of a crime of some lawful protection to which he has become entitled such

as the protection of a former conviction or acquittal, or a proclamation of amnesty.  (In re: Kay

Villegas Kami, Inc., 35 SCRA 429, 431). Ex Post Facto Laws refer to criminal matters. They are

retroactive in application and are prejudicial to the accused.

Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony,

who is not a habitual criminal, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has

been pronounced and the convict is serving the same. (Article 22, Revised Penal Code). Ex Post Facto

Laws are not in favor of the accused as a result, lawmaking body is not allowed to enact them.

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