Abstract

This paper analyses the problem of retroactive legislation and the limits of such an operation, with emphasis on the Chilean public law. Scholars and courts have argued that such ban is necessary for the protection of acquired rights and securing the predictability of legal norms. The papers argues that those foundations do not fully explain the scope the ban on retroactivity as currently in force. Therefore, it proposes the idea of “finality” as a better foundation. Then it redesigns the prohibition for three purposes: (1) a better understanding of its scope, (2) to assess the constitutionality of laws with such effect and (3) to combine non-retroactivity with the necessary legislative dynamism.