The hypothesis advanced by the author in this essay is that rules and infringements are not two opposites or alternatives, but are linked by a complex and articulated relationship displaying at least two aspects: infringements of rules and rules that start out from infringements. As the area in question is the discipline of town planning, the article considers the rules governing how real estate (buildings and land) is used and transformed and how these rules are infringed, with unauthorised buildings and uses of urban land. The essay analyses both issues in the light of the concept of ‘nomotropism’ and proposes a classification for each of them: seven ideal types of town planning infringements and four types of rules that start out from infringements. In conclusion, these demonstrate that town planning infringements is more complex and articulated phenomenon than is encompassed by the term "unauthorised", and that infringements have different and often paradoxical features as well as, above all, a profound, complex relationship with rules.
Keywords: Rules - Actions - Infringements