Top 10 law facts

Roman Catholic Church. The office of Advocatus Diaboli was formally established by Sixtus V in 1587. The devil's advocate role was to critically examine the life of and miracles attributed to an individual proposed for beatification or canonization. This included the presentation of everything unfavorable to the candidate. The office was abolished when Pope John Paul II in 1979 to speed up canonization and beatification process.

U.S. The Guano Islands Act is a United States federal law passed by the U.S. Congress that enables citizens of the United States to take possession of unclaimed islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of another government.

Qadi . A qadi is the magistrate or judge of a Shariʿa court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions, such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works

Israel. The State of Israel has an unwritten constitution. Instead of a formal written constitution, and in accordance with the Harari Decision (החלטת הררי) of 13 June 1950 adopted during the Israeli Constituent Assembly, the State of Israel has enacted several Basic Laws of Israel dealing with the government arrangements and with human rights. The Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak ruled that the Basic Laws should be considered the state's constitution, and that became the common approach throughout his tenure (1995-2006).

God. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, trial by ordeal, such as cruentation was considered a "judgement of God" (Latin: judicium Dei): a procedure based on the premise that God would help the innocent by performing a miracle on his behalf. The test was one of life or death, and the proof of innocence was survival.

It becomes public domain. A patent allows you, and only you, to profit from your genius when you invent something new. No one else can manufacture or sell your invention unless you give permission. When a patent expires, anyone can copy your idea and market it. It becomes public domain

In 18th century BC. The Code of Hammurabi is the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign of Hammurabi (1792–1750 BC) of the 1st dynasty of Babylon.

A later act repeals the binding force of an earlier act. Lex specialis, in legal theory and practice, is a doctrine relating to the interpretation of laws and can apply in both domestic and international law contexts.

Refugees. Non-refoulement is a fundamental principle of international law that forbids a country receiving asylum seekers from returning them to a country in which they would be in likely danger of persecution based on "race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion". Unlike political asylum, which applies to those who can prove a well-grounded fear of persecution based on certain category of persons, non-refoulement refers to the generic repatriation of people, including refugees into war zones and other disaster locales.

1. In the years of splendor in Venice there was a law that allowed only one building to wear the name of the palace - it was the Doge's Palace, the residence of the rulers of Venice. The rich Venetian families lived according to this law in the so-called houses (Casa abbreviated Ca). Currently, most residences of Venetian patricians carry the word "palace" in their name, although there are exceptions and some Venetian monuments are still called according to old traditions, eg Ca'Rezzonico or Ca 'd'Oro. Over 100 survived to modern times.