@Perceiver,
Quote:Is there anything in law that comes into existence under certain terms and conditions, but can continue to exist even after those terms and conditions are no longer around
Many, perhaps most, things, probably. So-called "black letter law" is often applied in a machine-like way, without regard for the conditions and suppositions which generated the "rule" in the first place.
Example: I had a cop give me a ticket for not coming to a stop behind a "stop" sign. It didn't help me a bit to point out to him that I had come to a complete stop before I got to the intersection the sign was "guarding."
Of course it's selective. The same cop who will give you a ticket for "speeding" when you're trying to get a dying man to a hospital won't even consider giving himself one for speeding in order to catch up with you.