No punishment without law
No one can be convicted for an act that was not a crime when they did it. But an old law can be used in a new way.
The rule
Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, part of UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998, says no one may be held guilty of a criminal offence for an act that was not an offence when it was committed. It also forbids a heavier penalty than the one that applied at the time.
The nuance
Parliament cannot create a crime after the fact. Proscription offences therefore apply only from the moment an organisation is proscribed: the 2025 order came into force on 5 July 2025, and the support offences reach expressions made from then on.
Article 7 does not stop an existing, broadly drawn law from being applied to conduct it was rarely used against before. That is the point the UK timeline makes about section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000: the definition has been in force since 2000, so using it against protest creates no new crime. What changes is how it is used.
Why it matters
Knowing when a law began to apply, and to what, separates conduct that was lawful at the time from conduct that was not.
History
- The Human Rights Act 1998 gives effect to Article 7 in UK law.
Sources: Human Rights Act 1998, Schedule 1 — The Articles (including Article 7) - The proscription order comes into force on 5 July 2025.
Sources: The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025
Primary sources
- Human Rights Act 1998, Schedule 1 — The Articles (including Article 7) — The Convention rights given effect in UK law, including Article 7: no punishment without law.
- The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025 — Order adding Palestine Action, Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement to Schedule 2. Made 4 July 2025, in force 5 July 2025.
- Terrorism Act 2000, section 1 — Terrorism: interpretation — Statutory definition of terrorism, which includes serious damage to property done to influence the government for a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
In the timeline
Not legal advice. Laws change; check the primary sources and speak to a lawyer about your own situation.
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