RETROACTIVITY OF LAWS

As a general rule, Laws shall have no retroactive effect. (Art. 4 NCC)

Exceptions:

1. Tax laws

2. Interpretative statutes

3. Laws creating New Rights (Bona vs. Briones, 1918)

4. Curative Statutes

5. Remedial/procedural

6. Emergency Laws

7. When Expressly provided

8. Penal laws favorable to the accused provided, accused is not a habitual criminal

Exception: Constitutional limits, where retroactivity would result to:

a. Impairment of obligation of contracts

b. Ex Post Facto Laws

In case of doubt: laws apply prospectively, not retroactively.

Judicial decisions may not be given retroactive effect:

When a doctrine of the Supreme Court is overruled and a different view is adopted, the new doctrine should be applied prospectively and should not apply to parties who had relied on the old doctrine and acted on the faith thereon.

DISCLAIMER: The author is not lawyer nor an authority on this topic. It is a product of humble research and study of law. The information provided is not a legal advice and it should not be used as a substitute for a competent legal advice from a licensed lawyer.

Neil Christian

I want to share to you my knowledge about law, our travels with my family, success principles as well as healthy insights. I hope you will enjoy and learn from my blog.