ex post facto
4
9.9
- adjective
- /ɛks ˈpoʊst ˈfæktəʊ/
- Formal
:
ex post facto
- In the United States, an ex post facto law is one that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed before the law was passed.
- ex post facto law
Examples
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It's one of our most basic freedoms: The constitutional prohibition on "ex post facto" laws.
Blog text (9) -
Rove's ex post facto analysis of the election is interesting for a couple of reasons.
Blog text (29) -
Further, Strauss has suggested a solution that might apply even in cases where the ex post facto problem does arise.
Academic text (2010) -
SCOTUS held that retroactive taxes could be imposed without violating ex post facto law.
Blog text (23) -
Perhaps more importantly, few contemporary observers considered that, as a result of ex post facto accusations, the Nuremberg Trials had been rendered unfair.
Academic text (1997) -
"Judge-made law" trumps the law made by state or federal legislatures, becoming the judicial equivalent of an ex post facto law.
Academic text (1999) -
Many jurists had sought to solve a tricky problem by identifying ex post facto laws with those retrospective laws that imposed criminal penalties.
Academic text (1990) -
The Constitution declares that ex post facto laws cannot be enacted to punish individuals for actions that were legal when they were performed.
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Many legal experts argue that ex post facto laws undermine the principle of justice by applying retroactively to past actions.
Synonyms
50
7.2
Applies from an earlier date to cover work done or pay owed before
22
7.1
Taking effect from a past date so it applies to things that happened earlier
Surface Forms
Morphology
ex + post + facto
The phrase literally means 'after the fact' and is compositionally built from Latin constituents (ex = from/out of, post = after, facto = fact/deed), so a learner who knows those component meanings can reconstruct the sense 'retroactive'. However, because the parts are Latinized and not common English words in this form, many B1 learners will not know the constituents without prior exposure.
Etymology
Ex post facto is a Latin phrase made from ex ('from'), post ('after') and facto ('fact'), which gives the clear picture of creating a rule 'after the fact' and then using it on past actions. That's why ex post facto describes a law or decision that is applied to things that happened before it was made.