ilegge

Ilegge is a fictional term used in speculative discourse to describe a legal and social order that operates largely outside formal statutes, relying instead on customary norms, social sanctions, and informal adjudication. The coinage blends elements associated with the word legge (law) in Italian to evoke a contrast with formal state law, and it is not part of real-world legal systems.

In the concept, formal institutions exist but have limited authority; communities establish norms through councils, guilds, or assemblies. Enforcement relies on reputational consequences, ostracism, or localized sanctions rather than police or formal courts. Conflicts are mediated within the community, and actors navigate competing norms rather than relying solely on statutory rules. Proponents use the idea to discuss the resilience and limits of informal governance in online ecosystems, post-conflict settings, or densely networked urban spaces. Critics warn that it may undermine universal rights, external oversight, and accountability.

Variations appear in utopian and dystopian imaginaries: in utopian variants, informal norms align with equity where state law lags; in dystopian variants, powerful groups capture normative authority to suppress dissent. In fiction and media, il e gge often serves as a world-building device to explore tensions between formal law and community rule, sometimes overlapping with concepts such as legal pluralism or customary law.

See also: informal governance, customary law, legal pluralism, social sanctions.