Title says it all.
Just looking to see if there is a succinct term, legal or otherwise. Where a bad actor can use the letter of the law to negative and malicious effect despite the spirit or intent of the law being upended or broken.
E: like someone getting a rich man’s son who is a murderer off on a technicality. The law isn’t intended to let murderers go, but a wealthy person willing to prevent justice will exploit it to do so. A person cutting a budget or program that will result in (people going hungry, discrimination, death from lack of care or disease, whatever) knowing that this will be the result, but the law says they can change programs.
Edit: there isn’t a term. Thanks for the suggestions, though.
Lawfare
Pretty close. That seems a little neutral and leans towards law being used as a weapon regardless of the outcome. I’m looking for a term that is lawfare except deliberate exploitation for a malicious outcome knowing the opponent won’t use the law similarly.
Malicious compliance
Maybe? But that term is more for revenge than anything else.
It’s not though… It’s complying with a rule/guideline/law in a malicious manner, knowing the other party can’t argue that you didn’t do as demanded. It’s literally the phrase that means what you asked.
Yes, but the compliance is often driven by the recipient of the act, not the independent use of the law. Still not quite the same.
From the rest of the posts it is clear you just want to be contrarian.
No, it’s becoming clear that there isn’t a term for what I’m looking for. And that’s fine.
Lawful Evil
There’s various concepts in common law jurisdictions that go in the same direction.
It’s not exactly the same but this is a term for basically malicious lawsuits
That’s an interesting term. Using the law itself as the harassing cudgel.
Lawful Evil?
Thar’s the user, not the act of exploiting the law.
