Not Feuerbach: the origin of the adage Nulla poena sine lege in the Ancien Régime

Summary The expression Nulla poena sine lege is one of the most widely used Latin legal adages in the world. It is one of the formulas of the principle of the legality of offences and penalties. Lawyers and legal historians unanimously date its invention from 1801 and attribute it to Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach (1775–1833), the promoter of the Bavarian Criminal Code of 1813, which served to disseminate it. However, a consultation of the archives held at the Haus -, Hof - und Staatsarchiv in Vienna has forced us to revise this conclusion. The first occurrence found dates back to 1777, but the adage appears to be even older, as it was already considered a maxim in the Austrian Netherlands. Originally, the adage Nulla poena sine lege does not seem to have had the positivist and legicentrist connotation that it has had since the 19th century.