— Also termed retrospective. Cf. PROSPECTIVE(1). [Cases: Administrative Law and Procedure 419; Courts 100(1); Statutes 261–278. C.J.S. Courts §§ 147–148; Public Administrative Law and Procedure §§ 89, 98; Statutes §§ 407–431.] — retroactivity, n.
“ ‘Retroactivity’ is a term often used by lawyers but rarely defined. On analysis it soon becomes apparent, moreover, that it is used to cover at least two distinct concepts. The first, which may be called ‘true retroactivity,’ consists in the application of a new rule of law to an act or transaction which was completed before the rule was promulgated. The second concept, which will be referred to as ‘quasi-retroactivity,’ occurs when a new rule of law is applied to an act or transaction in the process of completion…. [T]he foundation of these concepts is the distinction between completed and pending transactions ….” T.C. Hartley, The Foundations of European Community Law 129 (1981).
