Title says it all.
Just looking to see if there is a succinct term, legal or otherwise. Where a bad actor can use the letter of the law to negative and malicious effect despite the spirit or intent of the law being upended or broken.
E: like someone getting a rich man’s son who is a murderer off on a technicality. The law isn’t intended to let murderers go, but a wealthy person willing to prevent justice will exploit it to do so. A person cutting a budget or program that will result in (people going hungry, discrimination, death from lack of care or disease, whatever) knowing that this will be the result, but the law says they can change programs.
Edit: there isn’t a term. Thanks for the suggestions, though.
Bad faith is the term. IANAL but I’ve been married to two of them. “Bad faith argument” for the action, “acting in bad faith” for the actor. It captures the idea of appearing to comply with procedure and orders, but deliberately misconstruing meanings and inventing ambiguities to justify actions. A gentler version of this is “sharp practice” which comes close to, but doesn’t cross the line into bad faith.