Criminal Law Blog Ghana

  Introduction The purpose of this article is simply to educate readers on the effect of a repeal on pending criminal trials. I also consider the effect of a repeal on the prescribed sentence of a repealed criminal offence.  The end of a criminal statute or an offence creating provision in a statute can be by way of a repeal in subsequent legislation or by a Supreme Court declaration that the statute or a provision therein is void because it is inconsistent with the 1992 constitution. [i]  The effect of a repeal is trite: the repealed law, whether an Act of Parliament or a provision in an Act, ceases to have effect [ii]  except as to matters that had already been dealt with. The interesting thing is this: in criminal law, repeals and savings provisions have different effects, first on offences and second, on actions taken based on the substantive laws i.e., a criminal trial. These will be addressed in turn. The Effect of Repeals on Offences - The Legality Principle...