Legal Definitions - obreption

Obreption refers to the act of dishonestly obtaining a special favor, a gift, or an exemption from a rule or obligation by using deceit or misrepresentation. This typically involves misleading a person or an authority, especially a powerful one such as a government or a religious institution, into granting something they would not have otherwise.

• Example 1: A person fabricates a detailed but false story about having a rare, debilitating illness and a long history of public service to convince a government agency to grant them a significant, lifetime disability pension and a special commendation for bravery, neither of which they are genuinely entitled to.

  Explanation: This illustrates obreption because the individual used deliberate deceit (a fabricated story about illness and service) to fraudulently obtain a "gift" (the pension) and a "dispensation" (the commendation, implying a special favor) from a "sovereign authority" (the government agency).

• Example 2: An individual, wishing to avoid a mandatory period of community service required by their religious order, invents a complex tale of a sudden, urgent family crisis in a distant country. They present this false narrative to the ecclesiastical leadership, hoping to receive a special dispensation that exempts them from their service obligation.

  Explanation: Here, obreption is demonstrated by the individual's use of a deceptive story (the invented family crisis) to fraudulently obtain a "dispensation" (exemption from service) from an "ecclesiastical authority" (the religious order's leadership).