History Main / ScrewTheRulesTheyBrokeThemFirst

* [[spoiler:Spider's]] plan in ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'' revolves around how the superheroes have refused to accept that [[VillainProtagonist the Inscrutable Machine]] are full Supervillains under the terms of the community truce. Because the heroes say the rules binding them from certain actions against the Inscrutable Machine don't apply to this situation, neither do the rules bind the Inscrutable Machine to adhere to the truce, allowing the team to shatter the rule against [[spoiler:attacking the bases of superheroes who are out of town for conference]].

* Spider's plan in ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'' revolves around how the superheroes have refused to accept that [[VillainProtagonist the Inscrutable Machine]] are full Supervillains under the terms of her community truce. Because the heroes say the rules don't apply to this situation, binding them from certain actions against the Inscrutable Machine, neither do the rules bind the Inscrutable Machine to adhere to the truce, allowing the team to shatter the rule against attacking the bases of superheroes who are out of town for conference.

** In Germany, for example, to prevent a totalitarian government similar to the Nazi regime, the Grundgesetz [[note]]Basic Law in German[[/note]] added "right to resist" rule of all much stronger restrictions to install such government failed (overlaps with ScrewTheRulesItsTheApocalypse), since Nazi Germany technically had a de jure very liberal constitution inherited from the Weimar Republic, but the liberties were abandoned due to the Article 48, creating a LoopholeAbuse by Adolf Hilter in 1933 to ensure a totalitarian regime and not repealing the constitution to give the impression of legitimacy.

* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': At one point during the Dark Tournament arc, one of the corrupt organizers begins
orchestrating a sabotage against Team Urameshi, in the hopes that their rivals in the quarterfinals win the fight. By the time it's evident that the rivals are going to win unfairly, Hiei and Yusuke begin considering the idea of playing dirty as well to even the score, but Kuwabara calls them out for this, and decides to fight the last remaining rival in one last round. He wins, and the corrupt organizer gets killed by Younger Toguro before he plans his next meddling.

orchestrating a sabotage against Team Urameshi, in the hopes that their rivals in the quarterfinals win the fight. By the time it the rivals are going to win unfairly, Hiei and Yusuke begin considering the idea of playing dirty as well to even the score, but Kuwabara calls them out for this, and decides to fight the last remaining rival in one last fight. He wins, and the corrupt organizer gets killed by Younger Toguro before he plans his next meddling.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' played along with TheEmpire, allowing them to set a trap for young Skywalker. Lando had qualms about torturing Han Solo and then handing him over to a bounty hunter, but he was cowed by Darth Vader. However, after being ordered to take Princess Leia and Chewbacca to Vader's shuttle, Lando protested, and was met with Vader's "I am [[MovingTheGoalposts altering the deal]]; pray I don't alter it any further." No surprise that Calrissian gets on the PA system, alerts the city that TheEmpire has seized control, and actively joins the rebellion.

* In response to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident Laconia Incident]] (where a pair of U-boats tried to rescue sailors from the water and were then bombed by Allied warplanes despite attempts to call a truce), Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, the commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine at the time , ordered midway through the war that his U-boat commanders were not to give any aid to the crews of any Allied vessels they sunk, whether they were military or civilian. The Americans had themselves been practicing unrestricted submarine warfare since entering the war. However, this ended up having consequences when it came to the Nuremberg Trials, as the Allies' having committed the same acts meant they couldn't charge Dönitz, more than likely saving him from the death penalty (he actually got off with 10 years imprisonment, the lightest sentence of anyone found guilty at Nuremberg). Additionally, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz defended Dönitz by pointing out that Dönitz hadn't done anything different than his own US Pacific Fleet had done to the Japanese (and with far greater effect).

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' ep, "Jack vs Aku". The two decide to settle things through simple hand-to-hand combat, with Aku claiming he won't use his powers while Jack can't use his sword. It starts out even at first, but not surprisingly, Aku starts going back on his word during the match and eventually it's revealed it was all a ploy to get Jack's sword. But Jack pulls an IKnowYouKnowIKnow on him by planting fake swords around the area. Eventually Jack retrieves his real sword, fights him as usual and Aku flees with things [[StatusQuoIsGod pretty much back to normal]].

* This can be used to explain the rationale behind the Chinese "Mandate of Heaven". and in a more general sense the social contract theory. The basic idea is that a legitimate government has the Mandate of Heaven, which requires that the people remain obedient and loyal to it... but only as long as said government fulfills its obligations to the people. If the government becomes incompetent, corrupt, and/or tyrannical, it loses its Mandate and its legitimacy, giving the people the right to replace it, by force if necessary.

** Japan's horrendous treatment of Allied prisoners of war, made the Allies unhappy with them. One reason why there were few Japanese [=POWs=], apart from the Japanese themselves being averse to such an act, is that the Allies themselves would rather kill enemy soldiers than capture them, out of anger towards Imperial Japanese atrocities.

* In warfare, this is one of the ways being a CombatPragmatist can backfire. Sure, if you're the weaker one they'll fall for it once or twice, but a more powerful nation can break the rules in many more ways than a weaker one can, so sometimes, it's better to just stick to the conventions and not call the unbound wrath of the other party on yourself. Traditionally UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar are not viewed as protecting people who have themselves broken them and even have provisions in place to allow for them to be "broken" if the other side breaks them first: while it's illegal to attack protected locations like churches, schools, historical sites, and protected peoples like medics, civilians, and hors de combat (injured soldiers who can no longer fight), protected locations become legitimate legal military targets if used for "a military purpose" (like storing weapons or housing combatants) and protected peoples become legitimate military targets if they engage the enemy in combat.

* This bit Japan hard in the lead-up to the Pacific War of World War II. The limits on naval power under the treaties Japan had signed meant that Japan would always be at a disadvantage to the United States. So Japan decided to break the treaty and start building more ships. The United States, no longer bound by the treaty since Japan broke it, immediately implemented plans and started building more ships than Japan could ever hope to match. One of the reasons for the attack on Pearl Harbor was that Japan was fully aware that if they didn't attack America quickly and force them to sue for peace, the planned expansion of the Pacific Fleet would mean that the Imperial Navy would simply be overwhelmed. Needless to say, that's exactly what happened anyway.
** Then there was the issue of Japan's horrendous treatment of Allied prisoners of war. Needless to say, the Allies weren't happy. One reason why there were few Japanese prisoners apart from the Japanese themselves being averse to such an act is that the Allies themselves would rather kill enemy soldiers than capture them, out of anger towards Imperial Japanese atrocities.

* Implied (if not stated outright) in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. Most Keyblade wielders (and other benevolent inter-worlders) do their best to maintain a world order, and so are generally prohibited from [[{{Malaproper}} muddling]] [[RunningGag ("Meddling!")]] in other worlds. The events of the games happen because Unversed, Heartless, and Nobodies[[note]][[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep in]] [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI that]] [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII order]], chronologically[[/note]] are travelling across the Ocean Between and spreading darkness in many different worlds.

This can lead to PayEvilUntoEvil, and either ISurrenderSuckers or ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal can lead ''to'' this. If this happens to someone who believes in ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules...[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness head for the hills]].

* This can be used to explain the rationale behind the Chinese "Mandate of Heaven". The basic idea is that a legitimate government has the Mandate of Heaven, which requires that the people remain obedient and loyal to it... but only as long as said government fulfills its obligations to the people. If the government becomes incompetent, corrupt, and/or tyrannical, it loses its Mandate and its legitimacy, giving the people the right to replace it, by force if necessary.

* Commissioner Smirnov in ''Comicbook/{{Blacksad}}'' is being ordered to let go of a murder case, tipping him that the murderer is wealthy and influential enough to be above the law. This leads him to back Blacksad into getting any semblance of justice by having the murderer killed, write it as a suicide, and force the murderer's henchmen into exposing their boss so the public knows of his crimes.
* Defied in one ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'' comic. After [[LoonyFan Clash]] tried to ''kill'' Jem at one of her concerts (only for Aja to push her out of the way and get mildly injured herself), Kimber recognized her as the culprit and engaged in a food fight between her group and the Misfits. Unfortunately, the judges of the Battle of the Bands were disgusted by their unprofessionalism and disqualified them, a move that angered ''both'' bands.[[note]]as the Misfits were angry that they were unable to compete against their main rivals[[/note]] As the Holograms decried the decision, citing how one of the Misfits' fans tried to kill them, the judges were still within their rights to do so since [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome not only were the Misfits sponsoring the contest themselves and the Holograms were tied to the rules/clauses of the contest, but technically speaking, the women had no actual proof that Clash was responsible.]]

** Voldemort uses this principle to his advantage: [[spoiler:He goads Harry into attacking him in order to break a curse Voldemort invoked when Harry was a baby, that was supposed to prevent either of them from threatening the other's immortality. This also breaks a mutual vow they had made mere hours ago, that prevented either from attacking the other ''unless the other did so first'']].

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10895506/15/Thunder-in-Kanto Thunder in Kanto]]'' Napalm's reaction to being banned from Celadon Gym - something that is considered a violation of the rules for gym leaders? He beats the crap out of the Celadon Gym's staff, forces his way in, and takes a Rainbow Badge from a frightened Erika. There was not even a Pokémon battle, but there sure was a one-sided fight.

* ''Film/Constantine2005'': Papa Midnite has sworn an oath to uphold the Balance between Heaven and Hell. In an attempt to convince him to go back on his oath and intervene in the conflict, Constantine tells him that the forces of Hell have broken the rules and violated the Balance.
* Cloud City administrator Lando Calrissian from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' played along with TheEmpire, allowing them to set a trap for young Skywalker. Lando had qualms about torturing Han Solo and then handing him over to a bounty hunter, but he was cowed by Darth Vader. However, after being ordered to take Princess Leia and Chewbacca to Vader's shuttle, Lando protested, and was met with Vader's "I am [[MovingTheGoalposts altering the deal]]; pray I don't alter it any further." No surprise that Calrissian gets on the PA system, alerts the city that TheEmpire has seized control, and actively joins the rebellion.
* ''Film/FistOfFury'' sees Chen take this stance. When it's clear pacifism isn't getting him anywhere in finding out the truth about his instructor's death, he goes on a one-man rampage against the {{rival dojo|s}}.
* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', when Kirk gets accused of cheating on [[UnwinnableTrainingSimulation the Kobayashi Maru Test]], reprogramming the simulation so that he could win, he argues that "[[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard The test itself is a cheat]]" since it makes highly improbable no-win situations, so it was reasonable for him to cheat his way into a winnable situation. Spock however counters that this proves that Kirk didn't just cheat, but failed to understand the point of the test in the first place. No-win scenarios ''do'' exist, [[SecretTestOfCharacter and the point of the test is to judge how you will react in such situations]].
* ''Film/{{Tron}}'': Alan Bradley is reluctant at best to help out Flynn. Part because Flynn's breaking the rules by hacking into the company's system, part because the man incessantly {{Troll}}s him and Lora when they're questioning him, and part because...well, Flynn is his [[TheMissusAndTheEx fiancee's ex-boyfriend]]. But then, Flynn lays out the reason behind the hacking - Dillinger stole Flynn's work, using it to make a meteoric rise in the company. Realizing Dillinger (and Master Control) have "broken the rules" convinces Alan to throw his lot in with Lora and Flynn, culminating in a six-felony late-night break-in on company headquarters to get Alan's software (the title character) running and expose Dillinger's crimes.

* {{Discussed}} in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''. In a minor departure from the book, King Théoden of Rohan questions why he should answer Gondor's call if their ally activates the alliance since Rohan received no aid from Gondor when they were under attack by Saruman in the previous film. However, when GondorCallsForAid later, Théoden honors it. (After all, as the books themselves point out, Gondor was not unwilling but unable to assist Rohan: being already under attack from the east and south, it could barely defend its own borders, was preparing for a siege, and had literally no spare forces to send up to Rohan - and, in particular, no significant cavalry capable of covering the distance overland at the speed necessary: even the men of its southern provinces had to stay home and defend the coasts from the Corsairs before they could spare any great numbers to come to Minas Tirith.)
* In ''Film/MortalKombat2021'' Shang Tsung leads a group of Outworlders to assassinate Earthrealm's champions before the tournament begins, and when Raiden calls him on this violation he points out that the Elder Gods, [[TheGodsMustBeLazy as standard for the franchise]], have done nothing to enforce their rules. Raiden takes this to heart and intervenes to teleport his remaining champions to safety, then teleports each of them out to face down an isolated Outworld opponent. They also plan to gang up on Goro, Outworld's most powerful champion.
* ''Franchise/JohnWick'': [[TruceZone No business may be conducted on Continental grounds]]. However, it is indicated that if someone tries to kill you first in the Continental, you are allowed to use whatever force necessary to defend yourself. You can't kill anyone ''else'', but killing your would-be assassin may be allowed.
* ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'': Darth Vader makes an agreement with Lando Calrissian to leave Cloud City in peace in exchange for Lando giving up the crew of the ''Millennium Falcon'' should they show up looking for sanctuary. Once they do, Vader starts "altering the deal", using the fact that [[AppealToForce he's a Sith Lord with a super star destroyer in orbit]] to make Lando go along while the Empire moves to secure permanent control of the valuable mining colony behind the scenes. Lando, however, reasons that if Vader's not going to keep up his end, then he's got no reason to obey Vader, and helps Leia, Chewbacca, and Luke escape Vader's clutches.

* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' concerns a plot by the Auditors of reality to unmake humanity. The Auditors loathe humans for being untidy but have long held an unsteady truce with Death. After a group of them cheats, he wipes them out. Though he could justify this by the fact that they had taken living forms, he uses this trope instead.
-->'''Auditor''': You can't do this! There are rules!\\
'''Death''': [[AC:Yes, there are rules. But you broke them. How dare you. ''How dare you!'']]
* In ''Literature/TheMisenchantedSword'', the war between Ethshar and the Northern Empire comes to an end when the Northern Empire, as an act of desperation, unleashes a horde of demons on Ethshar; this is treated by all sides as if it were an all-out WMD attack. In response, the gods allied to Ethshar break their own rule of non-intervention and wipe the Northern Empire off the map.
* In ''Literature/TheMahabharata'', the Pandavas are essentially exiled because they lost a game of dice. One of the many reasons they are angry about this was because the guy they were playing against blatantly and constantly cheated. The cycle of cheating escalates to the point of the Kurushetra war that decimates the Kuru dynasty. The war concludes with Ashwattama, one of the last remaining Kaurava generals, murdering ''the entire Pandava lineage and their in-laws'' in their sleep and striking Arjuna's grandson from the deceased Abhimanyu stillborn.
* Sir Etienne, an ally of the protagonist of ''Literature/OctoberDaye'', is usually a scrupulously honorable knight who would ''never'' pull a dirty move like a GroinAttack...except when the other guy brings an iron weapon to the fight. As almost everyone in the series is some kind of fae and nigh-fatally allergic to the stuff, all bets are off once iron is involved.

* One of the "Bar Wars" episodes of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' revealed that Cheers and Gary's Old Town Tavern had signed a peace accord calling an end to their prank war. But on St. Patrick's Day, the Cheers gang discovers their wooden Indian Tecumseh is missing. Assuming Gary and his gang stole it, the Cheers gang launches a counterattack that shuts Gary's down. Unfortunately, it turns out that Rebecca had Tecumseh sent away to be refinished without telling the others. [[spoiler: Fortunately, it turns out that Gary had decided to take a vacation that week and his tavern was closed anyway.]]
* In an early episode of ''Series/MythBusters'', during a build-off, Jamie was keeping his build within the rules (specifically, the rule saying how much could be spent) until his team found out Adam's team had broken that rule. Cut to Jamie mounting an overbudget component.
* Played with in an episode of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy''. The Sons and the Aryans agree to meet for an unarmed brawl. Knowing the Sons will be unarmed, the Aryans show up packing guns. The Sons then reveal that they had anticipated this treachery and had made deals with two other gangs to cover them from the bushes. Rather than taking advantage of their now superior firepower, the Sons simply insist that the Aryans honor the original deal and fight them unarmed as originally agreed.

* Defied in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Realizing that the Wolfbats are cheating in the Pro-Bending finals and bribed the referee into ignoring it, Korra suggests her team do the same, but Mako shuts the idea down, saying the Wolfbats bribed the ref to turn a blind eye to ''them'' cheating, [[DoubleStandard but any rule-breaking done by the Fire Ferrets will result in them being disqualified]]. Though the Wolfbats do wind up winning handily thanks to their cheating, [[LaserGuidedKarma karma soon strikes them hard]] when [[BigBad Amon]] and the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized Equalists]] attack the stadium and [[DePower remove their bending powers]], ensuring that this ill-gained victory will be their last.

Two or more groups have an agreed-upon set of rules, contracts, oaths, or other agreements. But when one side violates these, the other side may well declare those rules null and void, and thus freely disregard and violate them as well.

** A DiscussedTrope in the first ''Literature/DarthBane'' novel. Dessel (the future Darth Bane) gets attacked by a fellow miner, and they get into a fistfight. Then the other man attempts to gouge Dessel's eye out... at which point Dessel bites the man's finger off. As Dessel himself notes while the man lay there screaming in pain: you should never escalate a fight unless you're willing to pay the price of losing.

* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' plays with this in "An Even Chance". When Jack Simpson decides to cheat in their pistol duel and fire early, Horatio declines to fire back in cold blood (even though it would be within the rules). After Horatio justifies this with Jack being "[[NotWorthKilling not worth the powder]]", Jack decides to go all out, attempting to stab Horatio in the back. It's at this point that Captain Pellew decides to interfere with an improbably but awesomely accurate musket shot.

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': {{Discussed}} in [[Recap/TheMandalorianS2E1Chapter9TheMarshal "The Marshal"]]. Din Djarin negotiates a deal between the settlement of Mos Pelgo and the local Sand People tribe: in exchange for [[EnemyMine the Pelgans' assistance in killing the krayt dragon that's been raiding them both]], the Tuskens swear that they will keep the peace with the Pelgans forever unless the Pelgans break the peace first.

* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the village of Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Desians. After a Desian force apparently attacks the Martel Temple, Genis uses this trope as an excuse to visit the Desian human ranch, which is forbidden by the treaty. However, because the "Desians" that attacked the temple were actually a rebel faction known as the Renegades (though this fact isn't revealed until much later in the game), the actual Desians end up invoking this trope themselves and attack Iselia in retaliation.

* Admiral Karl Dönitz, the commander of Nazi Germany's navy for most of World War II, ordered right at the start of the war that his U-boat commanders were not to give any aid to the crews of any Allied vessels they sunk, whether they were military or civilian (prompted by an incident where a pair of U-boats tried to rescue sailors from the water and were then bombed by Allied warplanes despite attempts to call a truce). In response, the Allies promptly decided that ''they'' weren't going to help the crews of any German vessels they sank, either. However, this ended up having consequences when it came to the Nuremberg Trials, as the Allies' having committed the same acts meant they couldn't charge Dönitz, more than likely saving him from the death penalty (he actually got off with 10 years imprisonment, the lightest sentence of anyone found guilty at Nuremberg). Additionally, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz defended Dönitz by pointing out that Dönitz hadn't done anything different than his own US Pacific Fleet had done to the Japanese (and with far greater effect).

** Then there was the issue of Japan's horrendous treatment of Allied prisoners of war. Needless to say, the Allies weren't happy. One reason why there were few Japanese prisoners apart from the Japanese themselves being averse to such an act is that the Allies themselves would rather kill enemy soldiers than capture them, out of anger towards perceived atrocities.

** In Ash's Indigo Conference match with Joshua Martin, he reflexively punches out Joshua's Fearow when it flies too close to him for comfort. Joshua insists that what he did broke the rules against trainers directly interfering in the battle. The Ref disagrees with his judgment, saying that even if what Ash did was against the rules, it was still a justified response since Joshua had obviously instructed his Fearow to get too close to the opposing trainer with the intent of keeping them from concentrating on the battle, which is considered cheating. As a result, [[LaserGuidedKarma Joshua is disqualified and forced to vacate the event's premises within 24 hours]].

* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' plays with this in "An Even Chance". When Jack Simpson decides to cheat in their pistol duel and fire early, Horatio declines to fire back in cold blood (even though it would be within the rules). After Horatio justifies this with Jack being "not worth the powder", Jack decides to go all out, attempting to stab Horatio in the back. It's at this point that Captain Pellew decides to interfere with an improbably but awesomely accurate musket shot.

* In ''VideoGame/TempleOfElementalEvil'', there is something of an unwritten rule between the Gods of the setting not to ''directly'' intervene in mortal affairs. When one of the evil Gods breaks this rule and manifests an avatar to attack your party in the final battle, one of the Good-aligned Gods promptly manifests his own avatar one round later, none too pleased at the breach in protocol and more than willing to answer it in kind. When the two Gods then teleport away to continue their battle in private, the evil God doesn't leave without first raising all of the enemies you'd previously killed during the fight as zombies.... which, in turn, prompts the good God to respond by fully healing your party before he leaves as well.

* Implied (if not stated outright) in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series. Most Keyblade wielders (and other benevolent inter-worlders) do their best to maintain a world order, and so are generally prohibited from [[{{Malaproper}} muddling]] [[RunningGag ("Meddling!")]] in other worlds. The events of the games happen because Unversed, Heartless, and Nobodies[[note]][[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep in]] [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI that]] [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII order]], chronologically[[/note]] are travelling across the Ocean Between and spreading darkness in many different worlds.

* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'': At the end of the Imperial Arena questline, Kai Lan the Serpent, master of the arena, invokes a centuries-old rule to use his right as former champion to challenge you, the new champion. The Black Whirlwind, a companion who has a grudge against Kai Lan, asks to fight him on your behalf, but while Kai Lan opposes the substitution, you can point out that it has happened before. If you do, Qui will then mention the time when Kai Lan surprised you with a toad demon as your opponent, and allow the Black Whirlwind to fight on your behalf.
* The final two cases of ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' involve [[spoiler:prosecutor Barok van Zieks]] on trial for murder, being prosecuted by [[spoiler:Kazuma Asogi]], whose father was falsely convicted for being the SerialKiller known as "The Professor" and wants vengeance on [[spoiler:van Zieks]]. When Ryunosuke tries to call [[spoiler:Kazuma]] out and insist that [[spoiler:van Zieks]] deserves a fair trial, [[spoiler:Kazuma]] asks whether Ryunosuke means a fair trial like the one [[spoiler:Kazuma]]'s father supposedly had.

* ''WebVideo/{{Jreg}}'': In "Centricide 4", Anti-Radical attacks Ancap with a knife, expecting that he won't retaliate because of his adherence to the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP). Ancap responds by pointing out an aspect of the NAP that everybody seems to forget: if you violate it, you lose protection from it. He then guns down Anti-Radical.

* This was the cause of the Berber Revolt in the former Umayyad Caliphate. Despite the stipulation that the non-Muslim Berbers could avoid paying the jizya tax if they converted to Islam, the leading Arabs chose to heavily tax them anyway after conversion when they realized that their conquests were taking a toll on their wallets. Despite the stipulation that Muslims were not to harm fellow Muslims, the Berbers launched a bloody rebellion and carved out several states for themselves.

* When al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a CIA drone strike in Kabul, the Taliban protested by claiming that the killing was a violation of the Doha Agreement they negotiated with America. A White House spokesperson responded by pointing out that the Taliban had promised to stop harboring terrorists as part of the deal, so they had no justification to claim the moral high ground.

This can lead to PayEvilUntoEvil, and either ISurrenderSuckers or ScrewTheRulesTheyreNotReal can lead ''to'' this. If this happens to someone who believes in ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules... [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness head for the hills]].

* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'': In "The Speedy Arkansas Travelers" (issue #5, Gold Key) Dick Dastardly employs chewed bubble gum to halt the progress of the Army Surplus Special. But when the Arkansas Chuggabug's Luke and Blubber gets the Mean Machine hung up the same way, Dastardly [[MoralMyopia complains vehemently]].

* Commissioner Smirnov in ''Comicbook/{{Blacksad}}'' is being ordered to let go off a murder case, tipping him that the murderer is wealthy and influential enough to be above the law. This leads him to back Blacksad into getting any semblance of justice by having the murderer killed, write it as a suicide and force the murderer's henchmen into exposing their boss so the public knows of his crimes.

** The Defence Professor tells a story about a medieval Dark Witch who taught Battle Magic (Defence Against the Dark Arts) at Hogwarts on the condition that she vowed not to shed a drop of the students' blood, nor take from them anything that was theirs, while the staff and student body vowed the same to her. A student tricked her into breaking this vow in a very non-obvious way, and was then free to kill her in her sleep.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10895506/15/Thunder-in-Kanto Thunder in Kanto]]'' Napalm's reaction to being banned from Celadon Gym - something that is considered a violation of the rules for gym leaders? He beats the crap out of the Celadon Gym's staff, forces his way in and takes a Rainbow Badge from a frightened Erika. There was not even a Pokémon battle, but there sure was a one-sided fight.

* On the first possession of the Ultimate Game in ''Film/SpaceJam'', WesternAnimation/BugsBunny starts dribbling the ball upcourt until Pound smacks him hard enough to send the rabbit skidding the width of the court. No foul is called, and UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan gives a "woof" at just how rough the game is going to be. The Monstars continue to play nasty while the Tune Squad plays nice, until the second half. Then the Franchise/LooneyTunes bring in explosives, firearms, livestock and WesternAnimation/PepeLePew's [[SmellySkunk horrendous stench]], all of which begins to even the score. No foul of any kind is called, ever, although [[BigBad Swackhammer]] does call a timeout for a change of plans: that he wants Jordan instead of the Looney Tunes for his Moron Mountain theme park.

* {{Discussed}} in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing''. In a minor departure from the book, King Théoden of Rohan questions why he should answer Gondor's call if their ally activates the alliance, since Rohan received no aid from Gondor when they were under attack by Saruman in the previous film. However, when GondorCallsForAid later, Théoden honors it. (After all, as the books themselves point out, Gondor was not unwilling but unable to assist Rohan: being already under attack from the east and south, it could barely defend its own borders, was preparing for a siege, and had literally no spare forces to send up to Rohan - and, in particular, no significant cavalry capable of covering the distance overland at the speed necessary: even the men of its southern provinces had to stay home and defend the coasts from the Corsairs before they could spare any great numbers to come to Minas Tirith.)

* ''Franchise/JohnWick'': [[TruceZone No business may be conducted on Continental grounds]]. However, it is indicated that if someone tries to kill you first in the Continental, you are allowed to use whatever force necessary to defend yourself. You can't kill anyone ''else'', but killing your would be assassin may be allowed.

* In ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'' Uncle Press tells Bobby that it's against the rules to bring technology from one Territory to another. The BigBad Saint Dane does it. In one of the later books, Bobby decides that if Saint Dane can do it he can too and brings a big earth drilling machine from a technologically advanced Territory to one with more medieval level. This helps him stop the emergency of the moment, but it sets up a chain of events that makes him lose ground in the long run.

* In ''Literature/TheMahabharata'', the Pandavas are essentially exiled because they lost a game of dice. One of the many reasons they are angry about this was because the guy they were playing against blatantly and constantly cheated. The cycle of cheating escalates to the point of the Kurushetra war that decimates the Kuru dynasty. The war concludes by Ashwattama, one of the last remaining Kaurava generals, murdering ''the entire Pandava lineage and their in-laws'' in their sleep and striking Arjuna's grandson from the deceased Abhimanyu stillborn.

* ''Series/TheMandalorian'': {{Discussed}} in [[Recap/TheMandalorianS2E1Chapter9TheMarshal "The Marshal"]]. Din Djarin negotiates a deal between the settlement of Mos Pelgo and the local Sand People tribe: in exchange for [[EnemyMine the Pelgans' assistance in killing the krayt dragon that's been raiding them both]], the Tuskens swear that they will keep the peace with the Pelgans forever, unless the Pelgans break the peace first.

** In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "For the Uniform", Maquis leader Michael Eddington launches chemical weapons at a Cardassian colony, then attacks evacuation ships. Captain Sisko responds with his own chemical attack on a Maquis world, and threatens to do the same to others unless Eddington turns himself in. Eddington folds.

-->'''Critic:''' BAD MOVIE! IT'S A BAD, BAD MOVIE!! I AM SO ASHAMED OF YOU!! BAD MOVIE!! Okay, all bets are off! If this movie can't even represent a dead person by getting his GENDER right, NOT making up a false romance, '''AND A CHILD MOLESTING STORY''', ALL OF IT FABRICATED....

* A fairly common joke in ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons is for the KarmicTrickster to answer a cheater by cheating ''better.'' One example is a cartoon where Bugs play blackjack with Black Jacques Shellaque. Black Jacques draws a 10 of Spades, and pulls a second 10 of Spades out of his sleeve. [[FiveAcesCheater Bugs beats him with a 21 of Hearts]].

* Admiral Karl Dönitz, the commander of Nazi Germany's navy for most of World War II, ordered right at the start of the war that his U-boat commanders were not to give any aid to the crews of any Allied vessels they sunk, whether they were military or civilian (prompted by an incident where a pair of U-boats tried to rescue sailors from the water and were then bombed by Allied warplanes despite attempts to call a truce). In response, the Allies promptly decided that ''they'' weren't going to help the crews of any German vessels they sank, either. However, this ended up having consequences when it came to the Nuremberg Trials, as the Allies' having committed the same acts meant they couldn't charge Dönitz, more than likely saving him from the death penalty (he actually got off with 10 years' imprisonment, the lightest sentence of anyone found guilty at Nuremberg). Additionally, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz defended Dönitz by pointing out that Dönitz hadn't done anything different than his own US Pacific Fleet had done to the Japanese (and with far greater effect).

* In 1994, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan agreed to the Budapest Memorandum, in which they would give up their nuclear weapons in exchange for assurances that neither America, Britain nor Russia would use or threaten military force or economic coercion against them except in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. After Russia violated this agreement by annexing Crimea in 2014, backing Ukrainian separatists shortly thereafter, and invading Ukraine in 2022, there have been increasingly loud calls for Ukraine to amass a new nuclear arsenal, as Russia has proven that it won't respect Ukraine's sovereignty or the Memorandum.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': In "Turn the Table" an important vote, one which had powerful runic protections that would strike and petrify anyone that broke Dwarven law within the location (including vandalism and assault), is interrupted and declared over with no result. [[spoiler:The Exarch, a vampire]] that had been trying to rig the vote, attempts to assault Sigdi (one of those responsible for the interruption) stating nothing prevented him from murdering her; Sigdi answers that since the rules applied both ways, nothing really stopped her ''or'' her massive extended family that was also there [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1174.html from returning the favor]]. [[spoiler:He's promptly [[KarmicDeath dragged into the sun and held down until he burns to ash.]]]]

->''"Funny thing aboot tha law...Nothin' left ta bind ye means nothin' left ta hide behind."''

* ''Film/{{Constantine}}''. Papa Midnite has sworn an oath to uphold the Balance between Heaven and Hell. In an attempt to convince him to go back on his oath and intervene in the conflict, Constantine tells him that the forces of Hell have broken the rules and violated the Balance.