Nulla poena sine lege
“No penalty without a law.”
Legal maxim (Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach)
What does “Nulla poena sine lege” mean?
Nulla poena sine lege translates as “No penalty without a law.”
Nobody can be punished for an act that was not a crime under the law when it was committed.
“Nulla poena sine lege” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Nulla | no, not any | nominative feminine singular of nullus, “no, none”; agrees with poena |
| poena | penalty, punishment | nominative feminine singular of poena, “penalty”; the subject of the maxim |
| sine | without | a preposition that always takes the ablative case |
| lege | law | ablative feminine singular of lex, “law”; the case required by sine |
How to pronounce “Nulla poena sine lege”
The main differences are poena (classical oe is like “oy”, church is closer to “POH-eh-nah”), sine (SIH-neh or SEE-neh) and lege (hard g, or a soft j sound). Stress falls on the first syllable of nulla, poena and lege, and on the first syllable of sine.
The story behind it
Word for word the maxim says “no penalty without law”. There is no verb: Latin legal sayings are often written as short noun phrases like this, and English fills in “can exist” or “may be imposed”.
Despite the Latin, this is not a Roman saying. It was coined in 1801 by the German jurist Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach in his textbook of criminal law. He wrote it in Latin because Latin was still the shared language of European legal scholarship.
The idea behind it is the principle of legality: a person may be punished only under a law that existed when the act was committed. Today it is a basic rule of criminal law in most legal systems and is written into international human-rights treaties.
How to use “Nulla poena sine lege”
It suits a law-school desk motto, a caption or essay quote about fair trials and the rule of law, or a tattoo for someone who cares about justice and limits on state power. It also fits a speech on why laws cannot be applied backwards.
- Latin
- Nulla poena sine lege
- English
- No penalty without a law.
- Source
- Legal maxim (Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach)
- Era
- Modern
- Theme
- Justice
Common mistakes
- It is not ancient Roman law. The wording dates from 1801, even though the idea has older roots.
- It is often shown together with nullum crimen sine lege (“no crime without law”). The two are related but not the same sentence.
- Do not change poena to a masculine or neuter form. Nulla must stay feminine to agree with poena.
- It does not say that every law is just. It only says that punishment needs a prior legal basis.
Questions about “Nulla poena sine lege”
What does “Nulla poena sine lege” mean literally?
“No penalty without law.” In practice it means nobody can be punished for something that was not against the law when they did it.
Who said “Nulla poena sine lege”?
The German jurist Paul Johann Anselm von Feuerbach formulated it in his criminal-law textbook of 1801. It is not a classical Roman saying.
What is the difference between “Nulla poena sine lege” and “Nullum crimen sine lege”?
The first says there is no penalty without a law, the second says there is no crime without a law. They are usually quoted together as one principle of legality.
How do you pronounce “Nulla poena sine lege”?
Classical: NOOL-lah POY-nah SIH-neh LEH-geh. Church Latin: NOOL-lah POH-ee-nah SEE-neh LEH-jeh.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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