First two are perfectly fine. The laws were passed to empower law-abiding citizens to stand up against corrupt government officials. 4th sentence is fine. applicable things can pertain to things which are applicable (not really sure what you're trying to say here, my edit is just for grammatical reasons) Whatever it is that the regime is doing to its prisoners, it is, without a doubt, inhumane. (assuming you don't know what the regime is doing, but you do know they are inhumane) The regime is committing inhumane atrocities to their prisoners. (assuming you do not mean to state whether or not you know what exactly the regime's inhumane actions are).