# nulla pœna sine lege

> English word · Phrase · IPA /ˌnʌlə ˈpiːnə ˌsaɪni ˈliːdʒi/

## Definitions
1. The principle that a person shall receive no punishment unless he has committed an offence as explicitly defined in a law.

## Etymology
From Latin: nūlla (feminine form of nūllus, “not any”) + poena (“penalty”, “punishment”) + sine (“without”) + lēge (ablative singular form of lēx, “a law”) = “no punishment without a law”.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nulla-p-na-sine-lege