higher law
noun
: a principle of divine or moral law that is considered to be superior to constitutions and enacted legislation
Examples of higher law in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There is no higher law of overriding morality, and there's also no responsibility.
—
CBS News, 13 July 2024
Sister Megan Rice and her compatriots, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed, declared this an act of protest and love in the service of a higher law, but the incident prompted a two-week shutdown of the facility, and they were charged and convicted of intending to endanger the national defense.
—Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2021
Measured against the sweep of Anglo-American legal history, judicial review—the power of unelected judges to invalidate, as contrary to higher law, an act of the legislature—was a radical development.
—Raymond Kethledge, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2021
This was expected; such sanctuary was understood purely as moral confrontation, proclaiming a righteous and sheltering higher law.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, The New York Review of Books, 3 Nov. 2020
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CBS News, 13 July 2024
Sister Megan Rice and her compatriots, Michael Walli and Greg Boertje-Obed, declared this an act of protest and love in the service of a higher law, but the incident prompted a two-week shutdown of the facility, and they were charged and convicted of intending to endanger the national defense.
—Washington Post, 11 Oct. 2021
Measured against the sweep of Anglo-American legal history, judicial review—the power of unelected judges to invalidate, as contrary to higher law, an act of the legislature—was a radical development.
—Raymond Kethledge, WSJ, 29 Nov. 2021
This was expected; such sanctuary was understood purely as moral confrontation, proclaiming a righteous and sheltering higher law.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, The New York Review of Books, 3 Nov. 2020
See All Example Sentences for higher law
Cite this Entry
“Higher law.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/higher%20law. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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