Judgment_paragraph 53 · NC v European Commission (T-151/16)

53The principle of the retroactive application of the more lenient law was enshrined, inter alia, in Article 49(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which provides:‘No one shall be held guilty of any criminal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offence under national law or international law at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed. If, subsequent to the commission of a criminal offence, the law provides for a lighter penalty, that penalty shall be applicable.’