The Weakened Concept of the European Principle of Criminal Legality (Art. 7 ECHR and P7-4)

Article 7 of the Convention establishes that no one shall be held guilty of any criminal offences on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor may any heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed. A simple reading of this article points to an initial, important conclusion in relation to the notion of criminal legality as the Convention clearly does not hesitate to embrace custom, case law and the general principles of law recognised by civilised nations as sources for crime and punishment. Article 7.1 does not expressly reflect the principle of retroactivity of the most favourable criminal law despite the fact that it usually goes hand in hand with non-retroactivity in criminal codes in the Continental tradition. Keywords:Article 7; crime; criminal offence; European Convention; European principle of criminal legality; punishment