In the U.K., such a law — distant cousin to our own draconian enactments on eaglefeathers and exoticwoods — has (presumably inadvertently) wound up ensnaring museums. [Guardian]
What I really find Orwellian about this is that no one stated that an ex post facto law is illegal. Rather, they reluctantly admitted that this particular law was mistakenly put in place. In fact, ex post facto laws are a feature and not a bug of the English law. According to Wikipedia “In some nations that follow the Westminster system of government, such as the United Kingdom, ex post facto laws are technically possible as the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy allows Parliament to pass any law it wishes. “
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What I really find Orwellian about this is that no one stated that an ex post facto law is illegal. Rather, they reluctantly admitted that this particular law was mistakenly put in place. In fact, ex post facto laws are a feature and not a bug of the English law. According to Wikipedia “In some nations that follow the Westminster system of government, such as the United Kingdom, ex post facto laws are technically possible as the doctrine of parliamentary supremacy allows Parliament to pass any law it wishes. “