 nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali (latin, "[there exists] no crime [and] no punishment without a pre-existing penal law [appertaining]") is a basic maxim in continental european legal thinking. it was written by paul johann anselm ritter von feuerbach as part of the bavarian criminal code in 1813. the maxim itself is sometimes rendered: * nullum delictum, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali * nullum crimen, nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali * nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege praevia or abbreviated to: * nullum crimen et nulla poena sine lege (also nullum crimen et nulla poene sine lege)nullum crimen et nulla poene sine lege &mdash; primary source (grayling,a.c.: 'among the dead cities' [bloomsbury 2006], p.245) confirmed july 27, 2007 * nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege * nullum crimen sine lege * nulla poena sine lege the maxim states that there can be no crime committed, and no punishment meted out, without a violation of penal law as it existed at the moment the alleged offence occurred. a consequence of this principle is that only those penalties that had already been established for the offence in the time when it was committed can be imposed. thus, not only the existence of the crime depends on there being a previous legal provision declaring it to be a penal offense (nullum crimen sine praevia lege), but also, for a specific penalty to be imposed in a certain case, it is also necessary that the penal legislation in force at the time when the crime was committed ranked the penalty to be imposed as one of the possible sanctions to that crime (nulla poena sine praevia lege). this basic legal principle has been incorporated into international criminal law. it thus prohibits the creation of any ex post facto law to the disadvantage of the defendant. ==international criminal law== since the nuremberg trials, penal law is taken to include the prohibitions of international criminal law, in addition to those of domestic law. thus prosecutions have been possible of such individuals as nazi war criminalsnuremberg principles i & ii state; "any person who commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment." and "the fact that internal law does not impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law" respectively. and officials of the german democratic republic responsible for the berlin wall,case of streletz, kessler and krenz v. germany 
Criminal_law Latin_legal_terms Legal_doctrines_and_principles