- Statute
- Philippine Revised Penal Code
- Article
- Art. 22
- Topic
- Retroactive effect of penal laws
- Status
- In force
- Year
- 1930
- Cited by
- A Supreme Court decision
The provision
Retroactive effect of penal laws. -Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect in so far as they favor the person guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in rule 5 of article 62 of this Code, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pronounced and the convict is serving the same.
Intellegal Wiki · In plain terms
Penal laws apply backward in time when doing so favors a person guilty of a crime, provided he is not a habitual criminal as defined in the Code. This favorable retroactivity applies even if a final judgment has already been handed down and the convict is already serving the sentence.
An editorially maintained plain-language explanation of this provision — not legal advice.
Cases applying this article
- Buiser v. People G.R. No. L-32377