# Legality > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Legality > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Legality.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality > Source revision: 1342273089 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Consistency with the law of a jurisdiction For other uses, see [Legality (disambiguation)](/source/Legality_(disambiguation)). **Legality** is the state of being consistent with the [law](/source/Law), the construct of legal [power](/source/Power_(social_and_political)), or lawfulness in a given [jurisdiction](/source/Jurisdiction).[1] ## Definition In [contract law](/source/Contract_law), legality of purpose is required of every enforceable contract. One can not validate or enforce a contract to do activity with unlawful purpose.[2] ## Principle of legality This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Main article: [Principle of legality in criminal law](/source/Principle_of_legality_in_criminal_law) The principle that no one be convicted of a crime without a written legal text which clearly describes the crime is widely accepted and codified in modern democratic states as a basic requirement of the rule of law. It is known in Latin as *[nulla poena sine lege](/source/Nulla_poena_sine_lege)*. *Nulla poena sine lege* is a principle of [international human rights law](/source/International_human_rights_law) and is incorporated into the [Universal Declaration of Human Rights](/source/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights), the [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights](/source/International_Covenant_on_Civil_and_Political_Rights) and the [European Convention on Human Rights](/source/European_Convention_on_Human_Rights). Exceptionally under [international law](/source/International_law), criminal offences may include violations of "the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations", such as [genocide](/source/Genocide), [war crimes](/source/War_crimes) and [crimes against humanity](/source/Crimes_against_humanity), even if such offences are not codified or affirmed in judicial precedent. Following the [Nuremberg trials](/source/Nuremberg_trials), scholars of [jurisprudence](/source/Jurisprudence) have debated whether such exceptions are valid for apparently applying retrospective criminal sanctions in the absence of written law. [Natural-law](/source/Natural_law) theorists argue that crimes such as genocide are, and have always been, illegal under natural law. ## By jurisdiction This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) ### United Kingdom In the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) under the doctrine of [Parliamentary sovereignty](/source/Parliamentary_sovereignty), the legislature can (in theory) pass such retrospective laws as it sees fit, though article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which has legal force in Britain, forbids conviction for a crime which was not illegal at the time it was committed. ### United States In the [United States](/source/United_States), laws may not violate the stated provisions of the [United States Constitution](/source/United_States_Constitution), which includes a prohibition on retrospective laws. ## Feminist theory Feminist theories of law define legality a distinct but related concept to the law, consisting of [socially-constructed](/source/Social_constructionism) meanings and practices that depend on [social forces](/source/Social_stratification), such as race, gender, and class.[3] Ewick and Sibley define "legality" as "those meanings, sources of authority, and cultural practices that are commonly recognized as legal, although not necessarily approved nor acknowledged by law."[4][5] ## See also - [Analytical jurisprudence](/source/Analytical_jurisprudence) - [Legal positivism](/source/Legal_positivism) - [Principle of legality in French criminal law](/source/Principle_of_legality_in_French_criminal_law) - [Sources of law](/source/Sources_of_law) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Definition of Legality"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legality). *merriam-webster.com*. 14 June 2023. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Litvin, Michael (15 September 2009). ["Legality of purpose – contracts"](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/example/%5Bfield_short_title-raw%5D_26). *cornell.edu*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Schultz, Vicki (1 January 1990). ["Telling Stories about Women and Work: Judicial Interpretations of Sex Segregation in the Workplace in Title VII Cases Raising the Lack of Interest Argument"](https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/4978). *Harvard Law Review*. **103** (8): 1749–1843. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/1341317](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1341317). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [1341317](https://www.jstor.org/stable/1341317). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Berman, Paul Schiff (27 February 2012). [*Global Legal Pluralism: A Jurisprudence of Law Beyond Borders*](https://books.google.com/books?id=K0Vgm5KYYjsC). Cambridge University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-76982-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-76982-2) – via Google Books. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Marshall, Anna-Maria (1 July 2003). "Injustice Frames, Legality, and the Everyday Construction of Sexual Harassment". *Law & Social Inquiry*. **28** (3): 659–689. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1747-4469.2003.tb00211.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1747-4469.2003.tb00211.x). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [145186120](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145186120). ## Bibliography - Kelsen, Hans. *General Theory of Law and State* (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, c. 1945) (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1949) (New York: Russell & Russell, 1961) (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, c. 2006). - Kelsen, Hans. *Principles of international law* (New York: Rinehart, 1952) (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966) (Clark, New Jersey: Lawbook Exchange, 2003). - Slaughter, Anne-Marie. *A new world order* (Princeton: Princeton University Press, c. 2004). - Nye, Joseph S. *Soft power* (New York : Public Affairs, c2004). - de Sousa Santos, Boaventura, and Rodríguez-Garavito, César A., eds. *Law and globalization from below: towards a cosmopolitan legality* (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005) - Marsh, James L. *Unjust legality: a critique of Habermas's philosophy of law* (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, c. 2001). - Sarat, Austin, et al., eds. *The limits of law* (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005). - Milano, Enrico. *Unlawful territorial situations in international law: reconciling effectiveness, legality and legitimacy* (Leiden; Boston: M. Nijhoff, c. 2006). - Ackerman, Bruce, ed. *Bush v. Gore: the question of legitimacy* (New Haven: Yale University Press, c. 2002). - [Gabriel Hallevy](/source/Gabriel_Hallevy) *A Modern Treatise on the Principle of Legality in Criminal Law* (Heidelberg: Springer-Heidelberg, c. 2010). ## External links Look up ***[legality](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/legality)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. - [Cornell LII "Jurisprudence"](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/Jurisprudence) - [Cornell LII "International law"](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/index.php/International_law) - [YaleLS Avalon Project, "Documents in Law, History & Diplomacy"](https://web.archive.org/web/19970529141411/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm) v t e Law Core subjects Administrative law Civil law Constitutional law Contract Criminal law Crime Deed Doctrine Equity Evidence International law Law of obligations Private law Procedure Civil Criminal Property law Public law Punishment Capital Corporal Restitution and unjust enrichment Statutory law Tort Disciplines Abortion law Agricultural law Animal law Aviation law Amnesty law Banking law Bankruptcy Commercial law Competition law Conflict of laws Construction law Consumer protection Corporate law Cyberlaw Drugs law Election law Energy law Entertainment law Environmental law Family law Financial law Financial regulation Health law public health global health Immigration law Intellectual property International criminal law International labour law International human rights International slavery laws International trade law Jurimetrics Labour Landlord–tenant law Law of war Legal archaeology Legal fiction Maritime law Marriage law Military law Music law Nationality law Probate Estate Will and testament Product liability Public international law Refugee law Space law Sports law State of emergency Tax law Transport law Trust law Unenforced law Sources of law Charter Legal code / Statutory law Constitution Custom Divine law Divine right Human rights Legitimacy Letters patent Man-made law Natural law Natural and legal rights Case law Precedent Law reports Legal treatise Regulations Law making Ballot measure Codification Decree Edict Executive order Proclamation Legislation Delegated legislation Regulation Reform Rulemaking Promulgation Ratification Repeal Treaty Concordat Statutory law Statute Act of parliament Act of Congress Basic structure doctrine Legal systems Civil law Common law Chinese law Legal pluralism Religious law Canon law Catholic canon law Hindu law Jain law Jewish law Parsi law Sharia Roman law Byzantine law Socialist law Statutory law Xeer Yassa Legal theory Anarchist Contract theory Comparative law Expressive function Feminist Law and economics Legal ethics Legal formalism History Libertarian International legal theory Principle of legality Principle of typicality Pseudolaw Rule of law Rule of man Sociology Jurisprudence Adjudication Administration of justice Admission to practice law Constitutionalism Criminal justice Court-martial Disbarment Dispute resolution Fiqh Lawsuit/Litigation Legal opinion Legal remedy Damages Deterrence (penology) Proportionality Reparations Legal status Judge Justice of the peace Magistrate Judgment Judicial activism Judicial interpretation Judicial misconduct Kangaroo court Judicial review Jurisdiction Jury Justice Practice of law Attorney Barrister Counsel Lawyer Legal representation Prosecutor Solicitor Question of fact Question of law Trial Trial advocacy Trier of fact Ultra vires Verdict Legal institutions Barristers' chambers Bureaucracy The bar The bench Civil society Court Ecclesiastical Court of equity Election commission Executive Judiciary Law enforcement Agency Legal education Law school Legal industry by country Legislature Military Police Political party Tribunal History History of the legal profession History of the American legal profession Women in law Law portal Category Index Outline Authority control databases International GND Other Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine This legal term article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. - [v](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Law-term-stub) - [t](/source/Template_talk%3ALaw-term-stub) - [e](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Law-term-stub) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Legality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.