Art. 571 Crimes for which there is no time limitation

Some crimes are so serious that prosecutors can file charges at any time, even many years after the crime happened. There's no deadline or cutoff date that applies.

This applies to crimes that can be punished by death or life in prison. It also applies specifically to forcible rape, second degree rape, and molestation of a juvenile or a person with a physical or mental disability.

For these crimes, a person can be charged and prosecuted no matter how much time has passed since the crime occurred. This is different from most other crimes, which have a set number of years within which prosecutors must file charges. If someone commits one of these serious crimes, they can still face charges decades later.