Zasada nullum crimen sine lege w prawie międzynarodowym

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the development of the principle nullum crimen sine lege in international law. The principle prevents from arbitrary sentence and is of a tremen-dous value for domestic legal system. The principle of legality can also be found in many international human rights treaties, among them in International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 19th December 1966. Undoubtedly, the principle is of the universal char-acter. Discrepancies appear in international criminal law, since it has no closed list of its sources. Furthermore, unwritten customary international law is enlisted into the catalogue. This paper provides with historical overview upon the principle of legality, starting from Nuremberg Military Tribunals, through ad hoc international criminal tribunals, Interna-tional Criminal Court. Last but not least, it presents actual developments achieved by the European Court of Human Rights in this field.