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An act or statute changing the law as to previous events or contracts.
‘Ex post facto’ laws are laws which voided and punished what had been
lawful when done. ….. [Phillips v Eyre (1870) 6 QB , 23,25]
The basic principle is that a person has a right to fair warning of that
conduct which will give rise to criminal penalties and, therefore, the
criminal quality attributable to an act should not be altered, after the
fact, to the detriment of the accused. ….. [Marks v. U.S., 430 US 188]
There is no funda¬mental difference between retrospective and ex-post
facto law. The former expression is used in respect of civil matters and
the latter in respect of criminal matters which by their nature are more
serious. ….. [Nabi Ahmed vs. Home Secretary, Govt. of West Paki¬stan,
(1970) 22 DLR (SC) 20]
Article 35(1) of the Constitution provides protection against ex post facto
laws.
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