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Guideline 47
Entry into efficacy of part of an Act may be deferred after, or anticipated before, entry into force of the Act. However, an Act should be given retroactive effect only in exceptional circumstances.
| 47.1. | Where necessary, a distinction should be made between entry into efficacy and entry into force. The date of entry into efficacy of certain provisions of an Act may be deferred after or anticipated before entry into force of the Act as a whole. | |
| 47.2. | Should it prove necessary to defer or anticipate the efficacy of part of an Act, the Act should clearly specify the provisions concerned as well as the dates of their efficacy. | |
| 47.3. | An Act has retroactive effect when the efficacy of the whole Act, or of part of it, is anticipated to a time earlier than the Act's enactment. Thus, an Act with retroactive efficacy also applies to facts having taken place before the Act's enactment, at the time when the Act's addressees could not be guided by the Act. Consequently, retroactive effect violates the requirement of legal certainty. Should it prove necessary to give an Act retroactive effect, this should be done respecting the rights of the Act's addressees. Retroactive effect must be indicated expressly. | |
| 47.4. | The final section of a retroactive Act should express clearly and precisely the date of starting of the Act's efficacy, using a standard formula, according to the national tradition. Similarly, when only single provisions of the Act have retroactive efficacy, their dates of entry into efficacy should be specified by using the corresponding formulas. | |
