Secret law
Encyclopedia
A secret law is a binding statute
, regulation
, policy
, or directive that, for one reason or another, has been kept secret from the persons to whom it applies. Such laws were common in the Soviet Union
and Eastern Bloc
countries. The term has been used in reference to some counterterrorist
measures taken by the Bush Administration
in the United States
following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Patriot act has been referred to as having secret interpretations.
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
, regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
, policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
, or directive that, for one reason or another, has been kept secret from the persons to whom it applies. Such laws were common in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Eastern Bloc
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
countries. The term has been used in reference to some counterterrorist
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
measures taken by the Bush Administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The Patriot act has been referred to as having secret interpretations.
See also
- GlasnostGlasnostGlasnost was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s...
- Sunshine law
- Ignorantia juris non excusatIgnorantia juris non excusatIgnorantia juris non excusat or ignorantia legis neminem excusat is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content...
- Gilmore v. GonzalesGilmore v. GonzalesGilmore v. Gonzales, , was a lawsuit filed by John Gilmore against various United States executive and independent agencies and departments, and United Airlines...
- Born secretBorn secret"Born secret" and "born classified" are both terms which refer to a policy of information being classified from the moment of its inception, usually regardless of where it was being created, usually in reference to specific laws in the United States that are related to information that describes...