61However, a particular problem arises where the principle of compatible interpretation is applied to criminal matters. As the Court has also held, that principle finds its limits in the general principles of law which form part of the Community legal system and, in particular, in the principles of legal certainty and non-retroactivity. In that regard, the Court has held on several occasions that a directive cannot, of itself and independently of a national law adopted by a Member State for its implementation, have the effect of determining or aggravating the liability in criminal law of persons who act in contravention of the provisions of that directive (see, in particular, Pretore di Salò, paragraph 20; Case C-168/95 Arcaro [1996] ECR I-4705, paragraph 37, and Joined Cases C-74/95 and C-129/95 X [1996] ECR I-6609, paragraph 24).
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