Review of the constitutionality of retroactive laws

As a rule, laws have a prospective character, that is, they are for the future. However, as an exception, there are situations when the adopted laws also refer to some situations from the past. This article analyzes whether the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova allows the adoption of retroactive laws. In this sense, an x-ray is made of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court in the matter, as well as of the European standards. It was held that the principle of non-retroactivity of the law will not be violated in the event of the adoption of: (i) more favorable criminal legal norms; (ii) interpretation laws; (iii) the legal rules in which the legislator has expressly established that they will apply retroactively. The last two hypotheses are not expressly provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, they were deduced in a praetorian way.