Lex specialis derogat legi generali (Latin: "the special law overrides the general law") is a principle for resolving conflicts between legal norms. Where two rules of equal rank apply to the same situation, the more specific rule prevails over the more general one.
Rationale
A specific rule is presumed to reflect the lawmaker's considered intention for a particular situation. Applying the general rule instead would defeat that intention and render the specific rule pointless.
Conditions
The principle applies only between norms of the same hierarchical level and only where they genuinely regulate the same subject matter. A specific government regulation cannot override a general statute, because the hierarchy of norms takes precedence.
Examples
In Indonesian law, the Commercial Code is treated as lex specialis in relation to the Civil Code for commercial matters. Anti-corruption legislation and the Narcotics Law contain criminal provisions that prevail over general provisions of the Criminal Code where they overlap. In international law, the law of armed conflict operates as lex specialis in relation to general human rights law in situations of war, as the International Court of Justice observed in its Nuclear Weapons advisory opinion (1996).
Companion Principles
The principle is commonly applied alongside lex superior derogat legi inferiori (the higher norm prevails) and lex posterior derogat legi priori (the later norm prevails). When these principles point in different directions, the hierarchy of norms is generally applied first.