Legal Literacy - The Principle of Legality is a legal principle that bases the validity of legal actions on a clear and explicit legal basis. This article discusses the history and development of the principle of legality from time to time, including the concept of Roman law and its influence on modern legal systems.

By reading this article, you will understand the importance of the principle of legality in everyday life, as well as how this principle has become an integral part of the current legal system.

The Meaning of the Principle of Legality

In the field of criminal law, there is a principle known as the Principle of Legality. This principle is regulated in Article 1 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code Criminal Law (KUHP) and states that an act cannot be considered a criminal act unless it is based on the provisions of current criminal law. In other words, a person cannot be punished if there is no criminal law that regulates his actions.

History of the Principle of Legality

The Principle of Legality is fully stated as "nullum crimen (delictum), nulla poena sine praevia lege poenali", and originated from the Bavarian Code in Germany in 1813. This principle was included in the Bavarian Code by Paul Johann Anselm Ritter von Feuerbach. The Principle of Legality emphasizes that no one can be punished without a law that has previously regulated the act. This principle is one of the characteristics of the Continental European legal system, and is contrary to the retroactive principle which allows the imposition of punishment for crimes that were not legally regulated at the time the crime was committed.

In ancient Roman times, there was a term "criminal extra ordinaria" which referred to crimes not regulated by law. This term was accepted by the kings of Western Europe when they adopted ancient Roman law. This allowed the kings to act arbitrarily against actions that were considered evil but not yet regulated by law. Later, the Magna Charta Libertatum appeared in England in 1215 as a form of reaction against the arbitrary practices of the king at that time. This marked the first phase in which humans began to fight for their rights as human beings.

In modern criminal law, the principle of legality arises from the sociological perspective of the Enlightenment which places the protection of the people from arbitrary power as important. Before the Enlightenment, power could punish someone without clear regulations. At that time, the will of power determined whether the action could be punished or not. Therefore, to protect individual rights, the principle of legality becomes important as an instrument of protecting individual freedom against the state. Thus, what can be punished is determined by the regulatory authority, not by the will of power.