0 the principle that laws can stop having any legal force when they have not been used for a long time
During the first fifteen years of this century it flourished and then fell into desuetude.
Once the church forbade the participation of the clergy in ordeals (1215), they quickly fell into desuetude.
As moots fell into desuetude, the inns' educative function also fell into abeyance.
We have argued earlier that methods of negotiated settlement between parties in a case of theft long survive the desuetude of the compensation tables.
For example, much of our environment and infrastructure is falling into desuetude, even collapsing, in some areas.
Nor is this a section of the law which has fallen into desuetude.
Though these powers exist, they are in desuetude and have not been invoked for many years.
They will lose those powers—which indeed have fallen into considerable desuetude—which they still legally possess.
