A basic rule in demanding a No Win No Fee compensation claim is that laws first have to be published in order for them to take effect. This is important for claimants to remember because they can use this principle to negate the charges of the defendant regarding the validity of their claims, should these charges be based on the unpublished statutes. It is important to note here that this applies to all laws, no matter when they were made. The usual time frame is anywhere between two to three weeks. Practically speaking, it is impossible for laymen to be apprised of all the laws, but not so for lawyers who are beholden to keep themselves updated in legal developments.
This requirement of publication is related to another basic legal maxim: ignorance of the law excuses no one from obedience to it. Thus, you can argue if the defendant blames your ignorance of the law, that this is excusable if the law he is pertaining to has not fulfilled the requirements of publication. These ideas are just examples of how lawyers reason and argue. Essentially, what they do is to maneuver laws in supporting their clients and in demolishing their opponents. Mastery of the ordinary meaning and exceptions to the law, to sum up, are not just advisable, but absolutely necessary to win cases.
The Bane of Retroactivity
Another basic but interesting law when it comes to dealing with the application of laws pertains to retroactivity. In legal parlance, retroactivity means the power of a certain law to affect individuals for an action which they did even before the said law was made. For example, if I picked up a pen from the ground, which at the time of doing so was not thought to be illegal, and a law banning this act was passed the day after, then I could be punished for what I did even before the law was made, if the framers expressly included in its provisions that it has retroactive effect. Of course this example is simplified, but in essence that is how laws are retro activated. In this case, the said law becomes an ex post facto law because it is at the same time a punitive law.
The wisdom of the people has long ago frowned against such legal impostures. They make people accountable for things which at the time of doing were not prohibited, making them victims of the arbitrariness of the rulers. The idea applies to those demanding a No Win No Fee compensation claim as well. In fine, their claims once filed must be judged according to the statutes in effect at the time. New laws which may repeal these statutes have no effect on these claims. They are protected by what lawyers call a vested interest, something which protects them from the possibly adverse changes made by retroactive laws.
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