European Court of Human Rights - Kokkinakis v. Greece - Application no. 14307/88

giurisprudenza e prassi internazionale - international case-law and practice

Data – Date :

25/05/1993

Strumenti correlati – Related instruments:

Note – Notes:

Ruling:

THE COURT, Holds by eight votes to one that there has been no breach of Article 7 (art. 7).

Reference to obligations of criminalization:

(Paragraph 40) The Court has already noted that the wording of many statutes is not absolutely precise. The need to avoid excessive rigidity and to keep pace with changing circumstances means that many laws are inevitably couched in terms which, to a greater or lesser extent, are vague (see, for example and mutatis mutandis, the Müller and Others v. Switzerland judgment of 24 May 1988, Series A no. 133, p. 20, para. 29). Criminal-law provisions on proselytism fall within this category. The interpretation and application of such enactments depend on practice. (…)

Reference to human dignity:

(paragraph 52) The Court points out that Article 7 para. 1 (art. 7-1) of the Convention is not confined to prohibiting the retrospective application of the criminal law to an accused’s disadvantage. It also embodies, more generally, the principle that only the law can define a crime and prescribe a penalty (nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege) and the principle that the criminal law must not be extensively construed to an accused’s detriment, for instance by analogy; it follows from this that an offence must be clearly defined in law. This condition is satisfied where the individual can know from the wording of the relevant provision and, if need be, with the assistance of the courts’ interpretation of it, what acts and omissions will make him liable. (…)

Norme penali italiane rilevanti – Relevant italian rules:

art. 7 ECHR

Parole chiave – Keywords:

Corte Europea dei Diritti Umani - European Court Of Human Rights, Trattato - Treaty