 Some theorists (Allhoff 2012) have invoked the legal principle of necessity in order to establish that torture in some extreme circumstances is or should be legally permissible (Gaeta 2004; Hunsinger 2008). However, the legal principle of necessity is inherently (and intentionally) vague. It typically applies to situations in which someone has infringed a law, but done so to avert a greater evil which is otherwise unavoidable. Here the notion of greater evil is radically underspecified and, therefore, in need of interpretation by the courts in any given case. Moreover, the application of the principle of legal necessity in cases in which it is state operatives who invoke it, such as in cases of torture by the members of security agencies, is fraught with danger. For the protection of the rights of citizens not to be tortured is likely to be significantly reduced if there is a legal justification for torture available to members of security agencies. Given the inherent vagueness of the notion of lesser evil, there is the potential in their adjudications for judges to favour the members of security agencies at the expense of ordinary citizens.