听身边的律师朋友常说“法不禁止即可为”，后面那句很少有人说。今天我们随便聊聊，只谈语言。

这两句话是英美法系(common law)国家献法的基础原则之一。

1. 法不禁止即可为 – Everything which is not forbidden is allowed.

字面意思是：any action can be taken unless there is a law against it.

The idea is that in liberal democracies people are inherently free to do anything, so long as it is not expressly prohibited by law.

这句话说的是公民——只要法律不禁止，公民就天然有做一切事的自由。

参照美国独立宣言的开篇第一句：

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

2. 法无授权不可为/法无许可即禁止 – Everything which is not allowed is forbidden.

字面意思是：an action can only be taken if it is specifically allowed.

The idea is the governments can only do the things specifically allowed by the law.

这句话说的是ZF——只能做法律明文许可的事。

英国上诉法院法官 Sir John Laws把这个原则总结如下：

“For the individual citizen, everything which is not forbidden is allowed; but for public bodies, and notably government, everything which is not allowed is forbidden.” – Sir John Laws (Lord Justice of Appeal，英国上诉法院常任法官)

*这位法官姓Laws，绝了。

这句话很出名，尤其前半句。

后来英国人用这句话来揶揄古板的德国人是：

everything which is not allowed is forbidden

说散漫的法国人是：

everything is allowed even if it is forbidden

以上随便聊聊，不必想太多，中医认为多思伤脾。