factum infectum fieri nequit

Italian

Alternative forms

• factum infectum fieri non potest

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin factum infectum fieri nequit. From Plautus' play Aulularia in Act IV, scene 10, line 11.

Proverb

factum infectum fieri nequit

1. (chiefly law) what's done is done; particularly, if a governmental or administrative body makes an unlawful decision, the damage is done even if the decision is later ruled to be illegitimate and thus annulled. By extension, functionaries who implemented the decision at the time cannot be held legally responsible ex post facto for conduct that they did not know was wrong at the time.

See also

• quel che è fatto è fatto
• piangere sul latte versato
• cosa fatta capo ha