ex post facto

English

Alternative forms

• expost facto
• expostfacto

Etymology

From Latin ex (“from”) + post (“after”) + facto, ablative of factum (“deed”)

Adjective

ex post facto (not comparable)

1. Retroactive
2. (law) Formulated or enacted after some event, and then retroactively applied to it.
   • 1998, Daniel E. Troy, Retroactive Legislation‎, page 56:

     Coupled with the Constitution's proscription of ex post facto laws is a similar prohibition against bills of attainder.

   • 2009 Saturday, March 21, Jim McTague, “Would a Tax on Bonuses Be Constitutional?”, Barron's:

     That the tax would take effect after some of the payments were made also raises issues. Says former Attorney General Richard Thornburg, also in an e-mail: "Such legislation could well run afoul of constitutional restrictions on bills of attainder, ex post facto laws, laws impairing the obligations of contract, unauthorized takings of property and the like."

See also

• Ex post facto on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Translations

retroactive

formulated or enacted after some event, then retroactively applied to it

• Finnish: taannehtiva (fi)