Above the Law

[DethVanXan]

Fellow Escapists, what do you think of a global organisation that is above the law?
I'm thinking of using a group like this in a story I want to write, here's what I've thought of so far...

- They would hunt down criminals deemed 'Too Guilty' to be given a fair trial.
- They would have to be top secret off course. Technically, they do not exist.
- Are above the law, able to do whatever it takes to complete a mission.
- Belong to no nation, takes their orders from the UN or some higher power (Illuminati etc)
- Members would be the Elite of the Elite from natioanl armies.

Those are my ideas for the group, I'll work on plot and characters once I've got this nailed.
Opinions and suggestions please.

 

[Riobux]

I think you should blur the line between "too guilty" and "guilty". Hell, I think you should blur the line between being "too guilty" and "not guilty". After all, being guilty of what society feels is a crime is nothing more than a social construct.

 

[The Zango]

I like the idea. Sure you'd get the power hugnry tards you get in everyproffesion but they'd do some good and wouldnt be bogged down in red-tape.

 

[Cabisco]

No, whats the point of laws if we want to create something that is above them. Everyone in theory should be accountable, otherwise whats to stop the top secret organisation from just going on a murdering spree.

If you were going to write a story about them, you'd likely want it to touch on that and the consquences of being in unaccountable to their actions. Hell get some moral play from your characters about what they are doing.

 

[splatterguy734]

Sounds like a good story hope it comes to fruition.

 

[Layz92]

It's a good basic groundwork for a story. Not to claim piracy but isn't that sought of the basis of the GI Joe movie? And a couple of others I can't put a name to. (maybe the seven ancient wonders by Mathew Reilly)

 

[DethVanXan]

No, whats the point of laws if we want to create something that is above them. Everyone in theory should be accountable, otherwise whats to stop the top secret organisation from just going on a murdering spree.

If you were going to write a story about them, you'd likely want it to touch on that and the consquences of being in unaccountable to their actions. Hell get some moral play from your characters about what they are doing.

It's mostly to avoind the red tape and bureaucracy that could potentially allow a guilty person free.
Imagine a drug overlord responsible for pushing millions of dollars of drugs into a country. The authorities can't touch him for several reasons (lack of evidence, protection by a corrupt government etc) this group would go in and take him out.
Or a war criminal accused of mass murder, he can't be sentanced because his lawyer found some little loophole that destroyed the investigation and allowed him to go free.

The morals of this are all dubious, that was going to play a role in the story.

 

[DethVanXan]

It's a good basic groundwork for a story. Not to claim piracy but isn't that sought of the basis of the GI Joe movie? And a couple of others I can't put a name to. (maybe the seven ancient wonders by Mathew Reilly)

I haven't seen any of those. Damn, it's hard to be original nowadays.

 

[Layz92]

It's a good basic groundwork for a story. Not to claim piracy but isn't that sought of the basis of the GI Joe movie? And a couple of others I can't put a name to. (maybe the seven ancient wonders by Mathew Reilly)

I haven't seen any of those. Damn, it's hard to be original nowadays.

I'm not saying your idea is a carbon copy, just that there are similarities (similarities are inherent to most every story though). Also it leaves room for racial dislikes for the characters if you want to throw a bit of a "lets all just get along" aesop in there (lets say a russian and an american for example if one is an old cold war era spetsnaz vympel unit soldier).

 

[Cabisco]

No, whats the point of laws if we want to create something that is above them. Everyone in theory should be accountable, otherwise whats to stop the top secret organisation from just going on a murdering spree.

If you were going to write a story about them, you'd likely want it to touch on that and the consquences of being in unaccountable to their actions. Hell get some moral play from your characters about what they are doing.

It's mostly to avoind the red tape and bureaucracy that could potentially allow a guilty person free.
Imagine a drug overlord responsible for pushing millions of dollars of drugs into a country. The authorities can't touch him for several reasons (lack of evidence, protection by a corrupt government etc) this group would go in and take him out.
Or a war criminal accused of mass murder, he can't be sentanced because his lawyer found some little loophole that destroyed the investigation and allowed him to go free.

The morals of this are all dubious, that was going to play a role in the story.

Yeah I get the idea and i'm glad to see your going to allow the potential problems of this play out in the story.

 

[Simalacrum]

Unfortunately, thats exactly what the UN was meant to be... the fact that the USA doesn't acknowledge them as a higher power kinda screws it over though.

edit: for a story, though, I think its high time that someone made a story about Anonymous... I think they can be considered 'above' the law in a fictional world very easily

 

[Deleted]

Well are you making them the good guy? If they're the bad guy, you should make their standards blurry so the reader doesn't always agree with their assassination.

 

[Bat Vader]

This group sounds kinda like the Spectres from the Mass Effect series. The idea sounds nice but it also sounds a lot like legal vigilantism. I think that they should have some laws that they are required to follow. For example: They cannot murder an innocent person or reveal themselves to the public.

 

[cuddly_tomato]

If you have laws they have to apply to everyone, or else they aren't laws. They are just instructions for the "little people" to follow.

 

[Pearwood]

It's hard to come up with an idea that hasn't been done before but it's relatively easy to take that idea and use it in a different way, e.g. do you tell the story from the point of view of the organisation, a normal police officer who finds out more than he should, a criminal being hunted by them? Your idea is a good base to start with, it doesn't matter that it's been used before, it's just an adaptation of a very old idea.

 

[DethVanXan]

Well are you making them the good guy? If they're the bad guy, you should make their standards blurry so the reader doesn't always agree with their assassination.

That's going to be part of it. They start questioning whether or not they are the good guys.

 

[DethVanXan]

This group sounds kinda like the Spectres from the Mass Effect series. The idea sounds nice but it also sounds a lot like legal vigilantism. I think that they should have some laws that they are required to follow. For example: They cannot murder an innocent person or reveal themselves to the public.

They are kept on a leash, only when given a mission are they let off. Until the poo hits the paddles that is ...

 

[electric discordian]

You also have the secret police russian doll conundrum, if you as a world leader set up something to get dirt on everyone, they get dirt on you which means you need a second more secret organisation to monitor them. Which means you now have a paranoid leader who believes that all of his closest advisor's are plotting to kill him!

Don't know how that would work in an international team. But it's proven in places like Russia!

 

[DethVanXan]

It sounds good on paper, but it might get messy when the reader tries to discern if their really the good guys or the bad guys. If their above the law, that essentially means they're doing things their way. They'll likely do things that make them as bad, if not worse then the very people they're trying to kill (apprehend? Lock up?)

That was going to be a theme in the tory. These guys breaking the law in the name of a greater justice. Questioning if what they are doing is right and what they consider to be 'right'.

 

[DethVanXan]

You also have the secret police russian doll conundrum, if you as a world leader set up something to get dirt on everyone, they get dirt on you which means you need a second more secret organisation to monitor them. Which means you now have a paranoid leader who believes that all of his closest advisor's are plotting to kill him!

Don't know how that would work in an international team. But it's proven in places like Russia!

They wouldn't have a single leader. They would be controlled by a group of world leaders (not all political)