Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,767,646,517 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

unlawful

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.

Contrary to or unauthorized by law; illegal.

When applied to promises, agreements, or contracts, the term denotes that such agreements have no legal effect. The law disapproves of such conduct because it is immoral or contrary to public policy. Unlawful does not necessarily imply criminality, although the term is sufficiently broad to include it.


unlawful adj. referring to any action which is in violation of a statute, federal or state constitution, or established legal precedents (against the law).


unlawful adjective actionable, against the law, criminal, forbidden, illegal, illegitimate, illicit, lawless, non legitimus, not allowed by law, outlawed, prohibited, transgressive, unallowed, unauthorized, unlicensed, unsanctioned, unwarranted, vetitus, wrongful, wrongous
Associated concepts: unlawful accumulation, unlawful act, unlawful assembly, unlawful combination, unlawful connract, unlawful detainer, unlawful detention, unlawful ennichment, unlawful entrapment, unlawful entry, unlawful flight, unlawful force, unlawful picketing
Foreign phrases: Ex pacto illicito non oritur actio.From an unlawful agreement, no action will lie.
See also: broken, delinquent, felonious, illegal, illegitimate, illicit, immoral, impermissible, unauthorized, unscrupulous, unwarranted, wrongful

UNLAWFUL. That which is contrary to law.
     2. There are two kinds of contracts which are unlawful; those which are void, and those which are not. When the law expressly prohibits the transaction in respect of which the agreement is entered into and declares it to be void, it is absolutely so. 3 Binn. R. 533. But when it is merely prohibited, without being made void, although unlawful, it is not void. 12 Serg. & Rawle, 237; Chitty, Contr. 230; 23 Amer. Jur. 1 to 23; 1 Mod. 35; 8 East, R. 236, 237; 3 Taunt. R. 244; Hob. 14. Vide Condition; Void.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in
 
Legal browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Legal Dictionary
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.