Not only what is permitted, but what is convenient, is to be considered, because what is inconvenient is illegal.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) In construing laws and grants, an interpretation that produces absurd or impracticable results must be rejected in favor of one that operates reasonably and conveniently.

Where this applies

• A statute technically permits a landlord to raise rent by any amount at lease renewal, but a court holds that a 500% increase is inconvenient to the point of being illegal because it effectively destroys the tenancy.
• A zoning law allows fences of any material, but a court rules that a 30-foot solid concrete wall in a residential neighborhood is so inconvenient to neighbors that it exceeds what the law contemplates.
• A permit regulation is interpreted to require applicants to appear in person at an office open only one hour per week in a distant city, and the court strikes the interpretation because impracticable requirements are illegal.