Extremities, or mere subtleties of law, are not rules of law.

Explanation

(English-origin maxim.) Hyper-technical readings and extreme extensions of legal rules are not themselves law — the law does not reward those who push principles beyond their reasonable scope.

Where this applies

• An attorney argues that a contract is void because one party signed with blue ink instead of black, and the court rejects the argument because such hyper-technical readings are not rules of law.
• A defendant claims a lawsuit should be dismissed because the plaintiff's attorney misspelled the defendant's middle name in the complaint, and the court refuses because mere subtleties are not grounds for dismissal.
• A tax authority denies a deduction because the taxpayer used a slightly different form number than the one specified in the regulations, and the court overrules the denial because extremities of technicality do not constitute law.