Legal Definitions - confederacy

The term confederacy refers to an alliance or association, which can be understood in two primary ways:

• A formal union of independent states or countries: In this context, a confederacy is a group of sovereign entities that come together for a common purpose, such as mutual defense, economic cooperation, or shared governance, while largely retaining their individual autonomy and control over their internal affairs.

  Example: Imagine a collection of small island nations in the Pacific Ocean. To gain stronger leverage in international trade negotiations and to share resources for disaster relief, they form a confederacy. Each nation keeps its own president, parliament, and laws, but they agree to a common foreign policy on trade and establish a joint emergency response fund.

  Explanation: This illustrates a confederacy as an alliance of independent states that unite for specific shared goals (trade, disaster relief) while maintaining their individual sovereignty and internal governance.

• An association of individuals, often for unlawful purposes: This usage is similar to a "conspiracy," where two or more people secretly agree and work together to commit an illegal act or achieve an illicit goal.

  Example: A group of former employees from a technology company secretly meet to plan the theft of proprietary software code. They divide responsibilities: one person will hack into the company's servers, another will decrypt the files, and a third will attempt to sell the stolen code on the black market. Their coordinated effort to commit this crime forms a confederacy.

  Explanation: This example demonstrates a confederacy as an association of individuals who have agreed to collaborate on an unlawful act, highlighting the element of shared intent and coordinated action to achieve an illegal objective.