HRS §1-3
Laws do not apply backward
This section says that a new law only affects things that happen after it takes effect. It does not change past events unless the law itself clearly says it should. This is a general rule about how to read all Hawaii laws.
everyone
The statute, as written — Laws not retrospective
No law has any retrospective operation, unless otherwise expressed or obviously intended. [CC 1859, §5; RL 1925, §5; RL 1935, §5; RL 1945, §4; am L 1955, c 57, §1(a); RL 1955, §1-6; HRS §1-3]
LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.