Tokens: Thus
,
in
our
view
,
it
flows
directly
from
settled
case
-
law
that
the
Court
’s
task
under
Article
7
of
the
Convention
is
to
verify
that
at
the
time
when
an
accused
person
performed
the
act
which
led
to
his
or
her
being
prosecuted
and
convicted
there
was
in
force
a
legal
provision
which
made
that
act
punishable
and
that
the
punishment
imposed
did
not
exceed
the
limits
fixed
by
that
provision
.
Hence
,
Article
7
is
,
first
and
foremost
,
a
rule
-
of
-
law
guarantee
limiting
the
Contracting
States
’
ability
to
impose
criminal
penalties
retroactively
and
in
a
manner
which
lacks
foreseeability
.
However
,
it
does
not
in
our
view
,
as
the
majority
today
conclude
,
limit
the
States
’
discretion
in
their
legislative
assessment
when
deciding
on
the
formulation
of
the
subjective
and
objective
elements
of
criminal
liability
at
national
level
.
In
other
words
,
and
to
be
clear
,
Article
7
is
not
,
and
has
never
been
,
a
tool
for
the
harmonisation
of
substantive
criminal
law
in
the
Member
States
of
the
Council
of
Europe
.
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