Public benefit as a recognised ground for setting aside the literal application of a rule.
Islamic jurisprudence developed maslaha to handle cases where the literal rule defeats the purpose it exists to serve, with al-Ghazali and later al-Shatibi framing it around the preservation of life, religion, intellect, lineage and property. The difficulty is universal to purposive interpretation: once purpose can override text, the question is who decides the purpose.
In practice
- A safety rule written for a machine no longer in use is enforced on the machine that replaced it, to the letter.
- A regulator who reads through to purpose resolves the case and gives the next applicant nothing to plan against.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Law & Politics
- Essay
- Rules that restrain power, and advice on using it