2007-11-29 20:41:00 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
unlawful:
1. illegal: not permitted by the law
2. immoral or unethical: contrary to religious precepts, ethical standards, or the conventions of society
illegal:
1. against law: contravening a specific law, especially a criminal law
2. against rules: not allowed by the rules of something such as a game
3. not permitted by computer: not permitted in a computer program
what this says to me is "unlawful" is a general term covering moral and ethical standards in society, while "illegal" addresses specific rules.
2007-11-29 20:50:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Hello,
(ANS) OK! the most obvious difference here is that if something is "illegal" then it definitely brakes a current UK law i.e. an existing law. For example if someone comes into this country without the normal papers & visa's etc they are said to be an "illegal" immigrant.
**Where something is said to be unlawful, the it is slightly different & the situation is less clear. Unlawful means that its NOT clear that any laws have been broken, its a gray area. Or that there are no laws which have clearly been broken but nobody is certain of this.
For example:- If I won a million pounds on the lottery and wanted to give several thousand pounds secretly to my favorite political party & politician that might not be lawful so in that sense it might be said to be unlawful? Its not clear enough to say its definitely illegal, it might be immoral yes! that thats a different issue altogether.
Ivan
2007-11-29 21:02:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
To be illegal is to be in direct violation of a statute or a law created by case history.
To be unlawful can be synonymous but is also different. This can mean that you are doing something that is contradictory to an established right or a convention (which may include civil laws). In law, criminal laws deal more with illegal actions...civil law seems to deal more with unlawful actions, which are actions that wont land you in jail, but are bad enough to leave you liable for suit.
For example, murder is illegal. Breach of contract or the unauthorized use of a person's image is unlawful- two acts that you can be sued for (because you are breaking a convention of a contract or you are violating an established property right) but are not enough for you to be arrested or held criminally liable for.
So as you can imagine, something illegal is worse than something unlawful...
2007-11-29 20:55:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well in modern times there isn't that much difference. However, illegal means an action that is prohibited specifically by a law. Unlawful is an based more on breeching accepted morals and/or traditions.
But as I said...the way the words are used today...they are almost the same word.
2007-11-29 21:02:44 · answer #4 · answered by Russ B 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The term illegal can be applied to actions, things and people.
The word unlawful is applied only to things.
Where something is illegal, it means that it is contrary to, or violation of, the law. An illegal act is one which is prohibited by statute, such as the importation of prohibited drugs. An illegal shipment of drugs is a cargo of drugs smuggled in contravention of such enactments as the Misuse of Drugs Act. However, if a person were to be found in possession of such drugs, one would speak of his possession as being unlawful rather than illegal, as there are circumstances in which he might have reason to be in possession of them: he might, for example, be a pharmacist, a police officer or a customs officer who is in possession of them in the course of duty. Where there is no such permitted circumstance justifying possession, the person concerned cannot plead that he falls within one of the exceptions permitted by the law and he is therefore in unlawful possession of those drugs.
2007-11-30 04:48:27 · answer #5 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unlawful is not being lawful; someone being evil, but not quite evil to be defined as evil.
Illegal means against the law.
2007-11-29 20:48:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Used interchangeably these days, both meaning "prohibited by law or by official or accepted rules". To be pedantic, unlawful also means "without legally established claim."
2007-11-29 20:51:07 · answer #7 · answered by champer 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
illegal is when something is against the law and unlawful is when something is not lawful.
2007-11-29 20:44:45 · answer #8 · answered by blip 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
They are synonyms....like under and beneath, big and large, little and small.They are mostly interchangeable.
'Unlawful sexual intercourse' is with someone under 16, you don't say 'illegal sexual intercourse' it sounds like all sexual intercourse is illegal.
2007-11-29 20:51:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
One is something that is against the law and the other is a sick bird of prey.
2007-11-29 20:45:06 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋