The retroactive force of the law is a legal definition, which is customary to denote the extension of the effect of a state-sanctioned act to events that took place before its adoption. In other words, the concept indicates the lawfulness of the onset of the legal consequences of a generally binding norm in relation to circumstances at the time of occurrence of which another rule of conduct took place.
According to generally accepted custom, the law is not retroactive. This provision is a legal axiom. Article 54 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation excludes liability of persons for an offense that was not such at the time of its commission. But the document indicates that in the event that the new law contains a milder sentence than the previously existing norm, the first is subject to application.
The provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation are reflected and concretized in the Federal Law and normative acts of lower levels. So, article 54 of the fundamental law is duplicated and disclosed in Art. 10 of the Criminal Code. The legislator introduces an important amendment to the constitutional provision, which, according to the meaning of the wording, is contained in a document with the highest legal force. But at the same time, the provision of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides citizens with additional guarantees. So, according to the author, the retroactive effect of the law takes place not only if the new norm provides for a milder punishment, but also if it somehow improves the situation of the offender.
This seemingly insignificant addition in practice plays a very significant role for the guilty person. Given the general policy of easing criminal law, which began in the relatively recent past, and, as a consequence, amending a number of articles of this code, it can be stated that the offender has a chance to receive a more lenient conviction.
It is noteworthy that the retroactive effect of the criminal law extends to persons serving sentences in accordance with the earlier stricter rule. The criminal process, initiated upon the commission of an act, the decriminalization of which is authorized by the state, is terminated, regardless of the stage at which it is located.
In addition to cases of mitigation or elimination of punishment by the new law, the retroactive effect of the law takes place, if the text of the
legislative act indicates this. This provision is not enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation or even contradicts it (given the article according to which the Federal Law, Federal Law and other generally binding acts of the authorities should improve, but not worsen, the situation of citizens). For this reason, the legitimacy of this rule can be called into question.
The document, having the highest legal force, was adopted at a popular referendum, and it was assumed that the texts of the lower laws must comply with it. But citizens do not have at their disposal an accessible, valid and debugged legal instrument with which they could express their opinion on the acceptability and correctness of generally binding provisions not related to the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Thus, the operation of the rule according to which the retroactive effect of the law can be established by the text of a normative act seems unconstitutional.