Rules to which there can be no exception (6,6)

I believe the answer is:

strict orders

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'there can be no exception' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'rules to which' is the wordplay.
'rules' becomes 'orders' (order is a kind of rule).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'which' becomes 'strict' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'orders' after 'strict' is 'STRICT ORDERS'.

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I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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