Desuetude

In law, desuetude (/dɪˈsjuːɪˌtjuːd/ or /ˈdɛswɪtjuːd/; from the French:désuétude, from the Latin:desuetudo English: outdated, no longer custom) is a doctrine that causes statutes, similar legislation or legal principles to lapse and become unenforceable by a long habit of non-enforcement or lapse of time. It is what happens to laws that are not repealed when they become obsolete. It is the legal doctrine that long and continued non-use of a law renders it invalid, at least in the sense that courts will no longer tolerate punishing its transgressors.