History Main / LegalizedEvil

If the majority in the setting doesn't see the actions in question as evil, that's ValuesDissonance or BlueAndOrangeMorality. If an evil deed is legal only on a technicality, rather than specifically permitted, that's just regular LoopholeAbuse.

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'''Compare and contrast:'''
* TheBadGuysAreCops: The laws might not be evil, but law enforcement is.

If the majority in the setting doesn't see the actions in question as evil, that's ValuesDissonance or BlueAndOrangeMorality. If an evil deed is legal only on a technicality, rather than specifically permitted, that's just regular LoopholeAbuse.

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The story may end in the good guys achieving JusticeByOtherLegalMeans.

Compare and contrast:

May overlap with LoonyLaws.

Often the purpose of the trope is ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil, which is similar but does not require a ruler, as well as OutlawTown and TotalitarianGangsterism, which are often side-effects of this trope coming into place when immoral figures become the ruling authority over otherwise morally superior masses. Also a possible factor in ViceCity and WretchedHive, where the majority in the setting are evil and happy to get away with it. AristocratsAreEvil may be in play if the setting is a monarchy, or CorruptCorporateExecutive in a capitalist setting.

Anyone who is LawfulEvil will be able to use this to their great advantage. Someone who believes in HonorBeforeReason will follow the laws and do evil, though maybe JustFollowingOrders. More morally aligned people may have CuriousQualmsOfConscience, debate whether ToBeLawfulOrGood, and hopefully decide to say ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight. Someone who disapproves of a lawful action may observe, "ThereShouldBeALaw!" The things even evil lawmakers make illegal fall under EvenEvilHasStandards.

Compare and contrast TheBadGuysAreCops, when the laws might not be evil but law enforcement is. Also compare and contrast InherentInTheSystem, where evil isn't the goal of the system but is still necessary for it to function.

However, what happens when something contemptible is considered legal by a society's ruling authority? What happens when evil people have the law on their side, or at least, [[TechnicallyLegalEvil their immoral deeds aren't unlawful]]? What happens when acts of immorality have legal backing and legitimacy? What if the legislative body decrees that arson is permitted on second Tuesdays, people named Bob are given two free passes for murder, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking no cop is allowed to write tickets for jaywalking]]?

However, what happens when something contemptible is considered legal by a society's ruling authority? What happens when evil people have the law on their side, or at least, their immoral deeds aren't unlawful? What happens when acts of immorality have legal backing and legitimacy? What if the legislative body decrees that arson is permitted on second Tuesdays, people named Bob are given two free passes for murder, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking no cop is allowed to write tickets for jaywalking]]?

* ''Literature/RecordOfLodossWarTheCrownOfTheCovenant'': {{Deconstructed}}. Marmo prides itself on being a nation of laws above all else, and is the only place on Lodoss where the cult of Falaris, traditionally considered DarkIsEvil, is legal. However, the overweening rule of law has allowed it to maintain harmony despite its diversity: the law applies equally to everybody.

* In ''Film/ThePurge'', a sinister group called the "New Founding Fathers" have taken over the United States and established an annual nationwide event where most crime, up to and including first-degree murder, are legal for a 12-hour period while emergency services are illegal (or enjoying the purge). This began as a way to [[KillThePoor persecute the homeless and other vulnerable people]] and to maintain their grip on power by terrorizing everyone else. Naturally, The Founding Fathers and their allies are still protected by the law under the purge and are guarded by armies of security personnel. In the third film, they allow Purgers to kill elected officials and nominees in order to publicly assassinate an opposing presidential candidate. [[KarmicDeath This bites them in the ass when the resistance unleashes their decades-long plans to purge the upper ranks legally]]. In the fifth film, they succeed at destroying America [[HoistByHisOwnPetard but are subsequently (and permanently) ruined by the lawless hellhole they created]].

* This trope is further fleshed out in the television series ''Series/ThePurge''. Like the film series from which it derives, all crime is legal one night every year, but on the other hand, FelonyMisdemeanor applies for the other 364 days to compensate. Many death sentences are thrown around liberally for crimes that would normally not warrant them.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "The Return Of The Archons", the brainwashed inhabitants of the planet Beta III are usually [[StepfordSmiler perfectly peaceful and orderly citizens]], but they have a regular event called "Festival" authorized by the planetary ruling authority in which the entire population suddenly erupts in a twelve-hour outburst of sex and violence they would not otherwise commit. It's not stated what function this serves their society, although the novelization suggests it may be a temporary outlet for their normally suppressed emotions and drives and/or a form of population control.

* ''Series/{{The Watch|2021}}'' is inspired by the ''Discworld'' novels and specifically the ''The Watch'' line with the city of Ankh-Morpork, so the same rules are in effect when it comes to there being various legalized guilds to commit crime. The Watch, rather than being an actual police force, is intended to regulate the various guilds, but the series is about them growing to become more than that.
* ''Series/{{The Wire}}'' had a season where senior police officer Major Colvin effectively turned a vacant section of city into a place where drug-dealers could ply their trade without interference from his officers, effectively confining vice to the area to protect nearby communities. Played with in that this wasn't the same as making it legal and the rest of the police department cracked down hard once they learned of Colvin's experiment.

** Vulkanus uses a tonne of Taydenite to purchase the rights to reform Earth, complete with a legal document. Course the heroes still won't allow him to turn their planet into a molten wasteland.

[[caption-width-right:350:"Wait, but if they're legal now, can you still call them crimes?"]]

* In ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', this is the argument Kasane Kujiragi uses to justify her [[spoiler:trafficking Celty]]. She explains to [[spoiler:Shizuo]] that [[spoiler:a dullahan]] is not legally considered a person or a protected species, so she's doing nothing wrong in the eyes of the law by [[spoiler:capturing and selling off his friend to Seitarou]].
* In ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'', the titular heroine must square off against Kodachi Kuno in a girls' rhythmic gymnastics match. Combatants are not allowed to attack each other directly; the object is to use "tools" to vanquish an opponent. Tools include small clubs, a ball, a hoop, and a ribbon on a stick. Kodachi's tools are modified with sharp edges and other nasty hazards for lethal effect, which the referee actually allows. Even a kettle of hot water (as long as it was snagged with the ribbon) and someone fished from the audience qualifies tools.

* A major problem in Creator/ProjectMoon's verse is that most scummy or horrific acts are actually ''legal'' and there's no regulations preventing a [[MegaCorp Wing]] from torturing people or carrying out gruesome human experiments or [[TheSyndicate Syndicate]] from killing hundreds for strange reasons. The only laws deemed punishable are relatively trivial offenses like not paying tax or filming within a certain Wing, which are invariably met with capital punishment.

However, what happens when something contemptible is considered legal by a society's ruling authority? What happens when evil people have the law on their side, or at least their immoral deeds aren't unlawful? What happens when acts of immorality have legal backing and legitimacy? What if the legislative body decrees that arson is permitted on second Tuesdays, people named Bob are given two free passes for murder, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking no cop is allowed to write tickets for jaywalking]]?

* How {{Hell}} is run in ''WebAnimation/HazbinHotel'', as Lucifer is theoretically in charge ([[AsskickingEqualsAuthority because he can do horrible things to anyone who defies him]]) but the only laws canonically confirmed to exist are a ban on travel to the mortal realm not sanctioned for official business, upholding TheMasquerade while in the human world with disguises, and a trademark or copyright on the name of the "Lulu World" amusement park. All other acts typically deemed as immoral in Hell are permitted and not punished under Lucifer's law. Drugs are sold from vending machines, civilian ownership of fully automatic weapons is widespread, sexual deviancy is the norm, genocidal turf wars among the demon lords are an annual thing, and there's nothing anyone can do about fraud and other bad business practices. [[AmusingInjuries The upside is that sinners are immortal and can't die from most of the above]], [[spoiler:but the downside is that the genocidal hit squads from Heaven with immortal-killing weaponry are fully permitted and encouraged to open fire on anyone.]]

** The Assassin's Guild is also legal, and they pride themselves on the "service" their members provide. They go so far as to engage in InsistentTerminology, calling what they do "inhuming" instead of "murder". They also pride themselves on certain professional standards, such as not accepting contracts on anyone who can't defend themselves.