The saying 'when the cannons roar, the muses are silent

• Author: Craig Forcese
• Profession: Faculty of Law, Common Law. University of Ottawa
• Pages: 31-31

The saying “ when the can nons roar, the muses are si lent” is well

known. A simil ar idea was expres sed by Cicero, who said “duri ng

war, the la ws are s ilent” (silent enim legis inter arma). Those sa yings

are regrettable. They ref‌lect neither the existi ng law nor the desirable

law.… It is when the cannons roar that we especial ly need the laws....

Every struggle of the state — against terrorism or any other enemy —

is conducted according to rule s and law. There is always law which

the state must comply with. There a re no “black holes.”

— President A. Bara k, Israeli Supreme Court,

Public Committee against Torture in Israel v. The Government of Israel1

1 (2006) HCJ 769/02 at para. 61.