After the Constitutional Court turned down in March 1992 a bill that aimed to lift the statute of limitations for political crimes, the Parliament voted an authoritative resolution on the interpretation of the statute of limitations. The scope of the resolution was to exempt the period between 1944 and 1989 from the term of limitation. The Court declared the regulation unconstitutional both for formal and substantive reasons. An authoritative resolution of Parliament does not meet the requirements set for a legislative act. It cannot regulate questions concerned with the basic rights of citizens, and violates the principles of legality and legal certainty. Substantively the resolution was found to be unconstitutional too because it is ex post facto legislation, making retroactive criminal prosecution possible.