hard lex sed lex is an expression in Latin, which translated into Portuguese means "the law is hard, but it is the law".
The meaning of this expression is related to the idea that, however harsh and severe the laws may be, they must be complied with and, for this, they require many sacrifices.
The expression hard lex sed lex it applies, for example, when someone commits a crime but claims to have no prior knowledge that their act was a crime. This is because the Law introducing the rules of Brazilian Law states in Article 3 that "no one excuses himself from complying with the law, claiming that he does not know it.". This means that the law can be considered harsh because even those who do not know it have to comply with it, because it is still the law.
One of the great names in Brazilian literature, Fernando Sabino, was known for writing the following sentence:
“For the poor it's hard lex, sed lex. The law is tough, but it's the law. For the rich, it's hard lex, sed latex. The law is tough, but it stretches".
This phrase has become a famous critique of the corrupt judiciary, where those with the most money end up getting more benefits or "reliefs" than the poorest, even though their crimes are milder than those of the rich, in many cases.