PĂRĂNŎMŌN GRĂPHĒ

( παρανόμων γραφή ), an indictment at Athens for propounding an illegal, or rather unconstitutional measure or law. In order to check rash and hasty legislation, the mover of any law or decree, though he succeeded in causing it to be pa ed, was still amenable to criminal justice, if his enactment was found to be inconsistent with other laws that remained in force, or with the public interest. Any person might institute against him the γραφὴ παρανόμων within a year from the pa ing of the law. If he was convicted, not only did the law become void, but any punishment might be inflicted on him, at the discretion of the judges before whom he was tried. A person thrice so convicted lost the right of proposing laws in future. The cognizance of the cause belonged to the Thesmothetae.