§ 3 Code not retroactive.

This rule simply means that the new criminal procedure code only applies going forward. It does not reach back in time to affect cases or actions that already happened before the code took effect.

If lawmakers want a specific part of the code to apply to past events, they have to say so clearly in the law itself. Without that clear statement, courts will assume the rule only covers things that happen after it becomes law. This protects people from having new rules applied to actions they took before those rules even existed.