unwritten law
Understood social code
Unwritten law refers to rules of conduct understood and followed by a community without being formally enacted or recorded.
These are customs, traditions, and social expectations that carry moral or practical force: It's an unwritten law that you don't talk about salary at dinner parties.
The phrase sometimes appears in legal contexts referring to precedent or common law principles not codified in statutes.
Historically, "the unwritten law" was invoked to justify violent acts—especially a husband killing his wife's lover—as socially sanctioned even if technically illegal.
- conventionAgreed standard of behavior
- unspoken ruleUnstated behavioral expectation
- community standardsCollective rules for conduct
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- precedentPrior authoritative example
tacit understanding · omertà · code of silence · case law · mutual agreement · handshake deal · gentleman · old boys' club · societal norms · morality · tribal law · honor code · shared values · blood feud · mob rule · family honor · custom · conscience
- social codessocial norms, social norm, unspoken rule, unspoken rules, social scripts
- legal systemsconstitutional law, judiciary, criminal code, court system, penal code
- common lawprecedent, binding precedent, case law, precedents, court rulings
- customscustoms, customs clearance, wedding custom, customs declaration, burial custom
- legal termstrial, legal, appeal, lawsuit, law
unwritten lawwritten law
Enacted and recorded legislation
statutory law · statute · legislation · legal code · code
lawyer, lawful, lawless, lawyers, unwritten, unwritten rules