A rule in the invented harbor
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A statutory rule in the story's invented harbor required a written permit before a vessel could use the inner dock, because the requirement appeared in the harbor's enacted law. The harbor officer could interdict an unauthorized entry by issuing an official order to stop it. A captain might invoke an applicable exception by citing its wording and showing why the vessel met its conditions. The clerk checked the fictional rules instead of treating every customary practice as a legal requirement.
The statutory permit requirement differed from the harbor workers' informal habit of taking lunch at the same time, which was not established by the invented law. Before choosing to interdict a particular entry, the officer checked whether the necessary authorization was missing. The captain could invoke a genuine exception but could not create one simply by insisting that the voyage was important. The exchange made the basis of each demand visible to the characters who had to respond.
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Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.