united-states european-union australia germany
What if the law changes after your proces begins?
<p>What would happen if there is a law change and those laws had had an influence on your case? Some scenarios, what would happen:</p>

<ul>
<li>The law you are sued for is deleted ...

<ul>
<li>while your process is going</li>
<li>before a case is raised against you (what you did was illegal while you did it)</li>
<li>after your process is finished (could you question the judgement?)</li>
</ul></li>
<li>There is a new law ...

<ul>
<li>while your process is going</li>
<li>after your process is finished (could you question the judgement?)</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<h1>Germany</h1>
<p>If we actually talk about criminal law, your question is answered by <a href="https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0010" rel="nofollow noreferrer">§§ 1 and 2 StGB</a> (the German penal code) – official but of course not binding translation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>§ 1 [No punishment without law]</p>
<p>An act may only be punished if criminal liability had been established by law before the act was committed.</p>
<p>§ 2 [Jurisdiction ratione temporis; lex mitior]</p>
<p>(1) The penalty and any ancillary measures shall be determined by the law which is in force at the time of the act.</p>
<p>(2) If the penalty is amended during the commission of the act, the law in force at the time the act is completed shall be applied.</p>
<p>(3) If the law in force at the time of the completion of the act is amended before judgment, the most lenient law shall be applied.</p>
<p>(4) A law intended to be in force only for a determinate time shall be continued to be applied to acts committed while it was in force even after it ceases to be in force, unless otherwise provided by law.</p>
<p>(5) Subsections (1) to (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to confiscation, deprivation and destruction.</p>
<p>(6) Unless otherwise provided by law, measures of rehabilitation and incapacitation shall be determined according to the law in force at the time of the decision.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Note that the last section has been voided in part by the Federal Constitutional Court but this is not relevant here.)</p>
<p>which is a legal principle given by the German constitution, in particular by <a href="http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/englisch_gg.html#p0568" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Article 103 para. 2</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An act may be punished only if it was defined by a law as a criminal offence before the act was committed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To answer your specific questions with the above rules in mind:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The law you are sued for is deleted while your process is going</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In that case you would not be punished.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The law you are sued for is deleted before a case is raised against you (what you did was illegal while you did it)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Same answer, you would not be punished.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The law you are sued for is deleted after your process is finished (could you question the judgement?)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You are out of luck. Only if there would be a new decision for an unrelated reason, your punishment would be taken back.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is a new law while your process is going</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The new law has no relevance at all.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is a new law after your process is finished (could you question the judgement?)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Again, no relevance to your case.</p>
<p>In another areas of the law the answers to your questions could actually be different but there would be too many cases to consider for a comprehensive answer.</p>
