Practice question · Sort into groups
Sort each defect by the requirement of the criminal statute that it violates.
Groups: Lex praevia · Lex stricta · Lex certa
- Analogy by purpose
- Past penalty raised
- Analogy to a horse
- Vague social order
- Vague good practice
- Past acts punished
Hints
- One column is about time, one about extension, one about precision.
- Two of the six are the judge's fault rather than the legislator's.
Show the answer
Lex praevia: Past acts punished, Past penalty raised
Lex stricta: Analogy to a horse, Analogy by purpose
Lex certa: Vague social order, Vague good practice
Why
The middle column contains judicial defects and the outer two contain legislative ones, which is worth noticing. Lex praevia and lex certa are addressed to the legislator, and a court can do nothing to repair a vague statute except decline to apply it; lex stricta is addressed to the court, and no amount of legislative care prevents a judge from stretching a good provision.
Practise The Principle of Legality
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Law I is free to start.
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