offence contrary law

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "offence contrary law" is not correct in standard written English. It should be "offence contrary to law." You can use it in legal contexts to refer to actions that violate legal statutes. Example: "The defendant was charged with an offence contrary to law." Alternative expressions include "illegal act" and "violation of law."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Academia

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Wiki

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

"While there were reasonable grounds to suspect the commission of offences involving serious or complex fraud, a detailed review of the available evidence led us to the conclusion that the alleged conduct, even if proven and taken at its highest, would not meet the evidential test required to mount a prosecution for an offence contrary to English law," the SFO said.

The Guardian

Incedal will now stand trial alone next week accused of an offence contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 (preparation of terrorist acts) and an offence contrary to section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (collection of information).

The Guardian

He is charged with an offence contrary to section 194 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

Independent

It took until December for the police to hand their file to the CPS and a further two months to take the decision to proceed with charges under both a law that is more than a century old (the 1906 Prevention of Corruption Act) and one that remained untested in British courts until now (cheating is an offence contrary to section 42 of the 2005 Gambling Act).

The Guardian - Sport

"In relation to the allegation of unauthorised computer access, that individual has been cautioned for an offence contrary to Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1989.

The Guardian

He has also been arrested on suspicion of harassment, misconduct in public office and an offence contrary to the Data Protection Act.

BBC

The company pleaded guilty to an offence contrary to the Health and Safety at Work Act at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court after the city council pursued legal action.

BBC

The men, aged 55 and 61, were arrested on Friday on suspicion of offences contrary to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, police said.

BBC

The men, aged 55 and 61, were arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, West Midlands Police said.

BBC

The latest man was detained on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act.

The Guardian

The woman, 28, and two men aged 42 and 49, were arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to the Modern Slavery Act.

The Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

In formal legal drafting, specify the exact act or section when using the correct form 'offence contrary to...'

Common error

A frequent error is the omission of 'to' in "offence contrary law". In English, 'contrary' functions as an adjective that requires a prepositional phrase to indicate the target of opposition. Writing it without 'to' creates a syntactic break that is unacceptable in professional or academic legal writing.

Linguistic Context

The query "offence contrary law" is a fragmented noun phrase. Ludwig AI notes that it functions as a failed attempt at a legal descriptor because it omits the prepositional link 'to' which is required to connect the adjective 'contrary' to the noun 'law'.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

Science

0%

News & Media

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Wiki

0%

Social Media

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Encyclopedias

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Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The search for "offence contrary law" reveals a significant grammatical gap. Ludwig indicates zero exact matches for this specific string, as it is a corruption of the standard legal expression "offence contrary to law". High-quality sources such as The Guardian, BBC and various academic institutions consistently include the preposition 'to' in their reports and legal analyses. Writers should avoid this query in its current form and instead use the grammatically complete version or a synonym like "unlawful act" to ensure professional clarity and adherence to English grammar rules.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

offence contrary to law

Adds the grammatically essential preposition 'to' used in all standard legal documents

violation of the law

Uses a noun-preposition structure that is standard for general and legal contexts

breach of the law

Replaces 'offence' with 'breach' to emphasize the act of breaking a rule

unlawful act

Provides a concise adjective-noun pairing that serves as a direct synonym

illegal act

Offers a simpler, more common term for general audiences

offence against the law

Changes the preposition to 'against' to highlight the adversarial nature of the act

criminal offence

Specifies that the act is a crime rather than a civil violation

conduct contrary to law

Broadens the focus from a single 'offence' to general 'conduct'

breach of statute

Specifies that the violation pertains to written legislative acts

statutory offence

Focuses on the classification of the crime within written statutes

FAQs

Is "offence contrary law" correct?

No, it is grammatically incorrect. According to Ludwig, you must use the prepositional form "offence contrary to law" to be accurate.

What is the meaning of "offence contrary to law"?

It refers to an act or omission that violates established legal statutes or principles. It is often used interchangeably with "unlawful act" or "violation of law".

Can I use "illegal act" instead of "offence contrary law"?

Yes, "illegal act" is a perfectly valid and more common alternative, though it is slightly less formal than the corrected legal phrase "offence contrary to law".

Which is better: "offence contrary law" or "violation of law"?

"violation of law" is significantly better because "offence contrary law" is missing the necessary word 'to'. Ludwig suggests using "offence contrary to law" for formal legal precision.