不文律

• 読み: ふぶんりつ
• ローマ字: fubunritsu
• 漢字の分解: 不 (fu) — not, un-; 文 (bun) — writing, text; 律 (ritsu) — rule, law, regulation
• 発音: /ɸɯbɯɴɾitsɯ/

意味

Unwritten law; unspoken rule; a convention or norm that functions as effectively binding without being formally codified.

A compound noun combining 不文 (unwritten) and 律 (rule, law). In political and legal contexts, 不文律 refers to constitutional conventions, customary practices, and informal norms that govern behaviour as powerfully as written statutes — particularly in systems like the United Kingdom's uncodified constitution. In everyday Japanese, it also describes the unspoken social rules that govern conduct within an organisation or community.

例文

1. 英国の憲法は成文化されておらず、議会主権などの重要原則の多くが不文律として機能している。
2. 先輩よりも先に退社しないという不文律が、この職場には依然として根強く残っている。
3. 国際社会においても、条約に明記されていない不文律が外交慣行を事実上規律している。

使い方ガイド

場面: law, politics, social norms, international relations

トーン: analytical

起源と歴史

From 不文 (unwritten; 不 negation + 文 writing/text) and 律 (rule, regulation, law). The compound mirrors the Latin concept of lex non scripta (unwritten law), which entered Japanese legal vocabulary during the Meiji-era reception of Western legal systems.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated