DECLARATION OF HUMAN AND CIVIC RIGHTS OF 26 AUGUST 1789
ARTICLE 7
No man may be accused, arrested or detained except in the cases determined by the Law, and following the procedure that it has prescribed.
BOOK I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
TITLE I
THE CRIMINAL LAW
CHAPTER I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
ARTICLE 111-3
No one may be punished for a felony or for a misdemeanour whose ingredients are not defined by statute, nor for a petty offence whose ingredients are not defined by a regulation.
No one may be punished by a penalty which is not provided for by the statute, if the offence is a felony or a misdemeanour, or by a regulation, if the offence is a petty offence.
BOOK I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
TITLE I
THE CRIMINAL LAW
CHAPTER II
OF THE OPERATIVE PERIOD OF A CRIMINAL LAW
ARTICLE 112-1
Conduct is punishable only where it constituted a criminal offence at the time when it took place.
Only those penalties legally applicable at the same date may be imposed.
However, new provisions are applicable to offences committed before their coming into force and which have not led to a res judicata conviction, when they are less severe than the previous provisions.
BOOK II
TRIAL COURTS
TITLE II
THE TRIAL OF MISDEMEANOURS
CHAPTER I
THE CORRECTIONAL COURT
SECTION V
THE JUDGMENT
Article 470
If the court considers that the matters prosecuted do not constitute an offence contrary to criminal law or that the matters are not proved, or that they is not imputable to the defendant, it dismisses the prosecution.
1. A person shall not be criminally responsible under this Statute unless the conduct in question constitutes, at the time it takes place, a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.
2. The definition of a crime shall be strictly construed and shall not be extended by analogy. In case of ambiguity, the definition shall be interpreted in favour of the person being investigated, prosecuted or convicted.
3. This article shall not affect the characterization of any conduct as criminal under international law independently of this Statute.