The principle of legality is a core value, a human right but also a fundamental defense in
criminal law prosecution according to which no crime or punishment can exist without a legal
ground. Nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege is in fact a guarantee of human liberty; it
protects individuals from state abuse and unjust interference, it ensures the fairness and
transparency of the judicial authority. The principle is often associated with the attempts to
constrain states, governments, judicial and legislative bodies from enacting on retroactive
legislation, or ex post facto clauses and ensuring that all criminal behavior is criminalised and
all punishments established before the commencement of any criminal prosecution.The
origins of the principle date back to post-World War II when a set of compelling criminal
statutes were established and the drafters of the Nuremberg Statute affirmed the notion of
individual criminal responsibility from a tri-dimensional perspective: legal, moral and
criminal.