PART III. – BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT.

Division 3. – Basic Rights.

Subdivision B. – Fundamental Rights.

37. PROTECTION OF THE LAW.

(2) Except, subject to any Act of the Parliament to the contrary, in the case of the offence commonly known as contempt of court, nobody may be convicted of an offence that is not defined by, and the penalty for which is not prescribed by, a written law.

PART III. – BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT.

Division 3. – Basic Rights.

Subdivision B. – Fundamental Rights.

37. PROTECTION OF THE LAW.

(7) No person shall be convicted of an offence on account of any act that did not, at the time when it took place, constitute an offence, and no penalty shall be imposed for an offence that is more severe in degree or description than the maximum penalty that might have been imposed for the offence at the time when it was committed.

4. LIABILITY TO TRIAL.

No person is liable to be tried or punished in Papua New Guinea for an indictable offence except under the express provisions of the Code or some other Act of the Parliament.

SCHEDULE 1 – THE CRIMINAL CODE.

PART I. – INTRODUCTORY.

Division 3. – Application of the Criminal Law.

11. EFFECT OF CHANGES IN LAW.

(1) A person cannot be punished for doing or omitting to do an act unless–

(a) the act or omission constituted an offence under the law in force when it occurred ; and
(b) doing or omitting to do the act under the same circumstances would constitute an offence under the law in force at the time when he is charged with the offence.

(2) If the law in force when the act or omission occurred differs from that in force at the time of the conviction, the offender cannot be punished to any greater extent than was authorized by the former law, or to any greater extent than is authorized by the latter law.