ex post facto

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See also: expostfacto

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Latin ex (from) + post (after) + facto, ablative of factum (deed). In Latin, ex takes the ablative case, while post takes the accusative case. (See Wikipedia for a discussion of the grammatical form and usage of this phrase.)

Adjective

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ex post facto (not comparable)

  1. Retroactive.
    1. (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 March 21, Jim McTague, “Would a Tax on Bonuses Be Constitutional?”, in 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."
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Translations

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Adverb

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ex post facto (not comparable)

  1. (law) By retroactive application of a law formulated or enacted after the deed in question.
    What he did was not a crime when he did it, but he was convicted ex post facto.

See also

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