Legal Custom in Russian Law: the Genesis of Conceptual Foundations and Modern Status

Abstract

Relevance. The role of legal custom in the Russian system of sources of law is ambiguous even today, although historically it has long acted as the main regulator of public relations. If in ancient times the custom was used everywhere, now it is widespread in private law and some complex branches of Russian law, and its application in the public legal sphere still requires scientific argumentation.Purpose: to study the genesis of the conceptual foundations and the current status of legal custom in Russia.Objectives: to study the origin, essence and meaning of legal custom in the Russian system of sources of law.Methodology. On the basis of the dialectical method of scientific cognition, as well as a combination of methods of analysis and synthesis, a set of general scientific research methods, as well as private scientific and special legal ones, such as: historical, system-structural, formal-logical, formal-legal, comparative-legal, etc.The results of the study are of a theoretical and applied nature, as they allow us to recognize legal custom as the original source of law, which historically gave rise to the entire existing system of forms of law. The signs of legal custom are revealed, its place and role in the system of sources of law are determined. The issues of the application of legal custom in civil, business and international private law are studied.Conclusions. The study of the genesis of the conceptual foundations and the modern status of legal custom has shown that it is rightfully recognized as an integral fundamental part of the system of sources of Russian law, has a subsidiary law-enforcement character and should be inferior in legal force to a normative act and a contract.