The Retroactivity Of Criminal Law

The application of criminal law is a matter of freedom and life,a matter of national security and social stability.The retroactivity of criminal law is a problem of the application of a criminal law. That how to deal with the retroactivity of criminal Iaw,is vary important for both individuals and nations.The purpose of this article is to look for an answer to this question(how to deal with the retroactivity of criminal law),and try to guide the practice.There are about thirty thousand words in thispaper.It is divided into three parts.The following is the brief content of each part.In the first part,we discuss that whether the law have retroactive effectSome argue that the law have retroactive effect.Some argue that the law can not be retroactive in opposition.In the end of the debate,the popular view is that application of the old law with the exception of a lighter provision in the new law is the principle of retroactivity of criminal law.In the second part,the author points out that mixing the principle of legality and the principle of retroactivity together is an unpalatable choice in history.However,this kind of marriage between different theories is changing in modern society.It’s time to reassess this kind of marriage between different theories.We should look at the principle of retroactivity historically and dialectically.In the third part,through the research on the retroactivity of Chinese criminal law,the author points out that the principle of retroactivity is the principle with Chinese characteristics of application of the old law with the exception of a less punishment in the new law.This principle with Chinese characteristics lead to the application of "mixed law"(the mixture of new and old criminal law). To solve this problem, we should adhere to the principle that convicting and condemning somebody must be judged by the whole law, not the part of it.In addition.judicial interpretation is not "law", The judicial interpretation of the law does not change the law. That is the theory at least.So there is no problem on The Retroactivity of Criminal Law.But in practice, the judicial interpretation often change the criminal law. We’d better solve the problem of the retroactive effect of judicial interpretation.