legalist

\\-_lə̇st\ noun (-s)

1. : one that believes in or advocates theological legalism

2. : one that views things from a legal standpoint; especially : one that places primary and often excessive emphasis on legal principles as interpreted literally or on the formal structure of governmental institutions

he condemns … the legalist who divorces international law from politics — R.N.Swift

3. usually capitalized : one of a group of thinkers flourishing in China during the 3d and 4th centuries B.C. and greatly influencing Chinese ethical and political philosophy by an advocacy of government on the basis of a fixed body of laws as distinguished from the Confucian ideal of government by moral example

the authoritarianism of the Legalists — Times Literary Supplement