This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Customary law is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008) |
In law, custom can be described as the established patterns of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting. A claim can be carried out in defense of "what has always been done and accepted by law." Generally, customary law exists where:
- a certain legal practice is observed and
- the relevant actors consider it to be law (opinio juris).
Contents |
Customary law and codification
The modern codification of civil law developed out of the customs, or coutumes of the Middle Ages, expressions of law that developed in particular communities and slowly collected and later written down by local jurists. Such customs acquired the force of law when they became the undisputed rule by which certain entitlements (rights) or obligations were regulated between members of a community.[1] The Custom of Paris - the customary law that developed within the city of Paris - is an example of custom law.
International law
Main article: customary international law.
In international law, customary law refers to the Law of Nations or the legal norms that have developed through the customary exchanges between states over time, whether based on diplomacy or aggression. Essentially, legal obligations are believed to arise between states to carry out their affairs consistently with past accepted conduct. These customs can also change based on the acceptance or rejection by states of particular acts. Some principles of customary law have achieved the force of peremptory norms, which cannot be violated or altered except by a norm of comparable strength. These norms are said to gain their strength from universal acceptance, such as the prohibitions against genocide and slavery. Customary international law can be distinguished from treaty law, which consists of explicit agreements between nations to assume obligations. However, many treaties are attempts to codify pre-existing customary law. With this said customary international law is often question as to its validity
Customary law within contemporary legal systems
Customary law is a recognized, but inferior, source of law within jurisdictions of the civil law tradition. It is strictly inferior to both statutes and regulations. In addressing custom as a source of law within the civil law tradition, John Henry Merryman notes that, though the attention it is given in scholarly works is great, its importance is "slight and decreasing."[2]
In Canada, customary aboriginal law has a constitutional foundation[3] and for this reason has increasing influence.[4]
In the Scandinavian countries customary law continues to exist and has great influence. Customary law is also used in some Third World countries, such as in Africa, usually used alongside common or civil law.[1]
Custom in torts
 |
All or part of this article may be confusing or unclear. Please help clarify the article. Suggestions may be on the talk page. |
Custom is used in tort law to help determine negligence. Following or disregarding a custom is not determinative of negligence, but instead is an indication of possible best practices or alternatives to a particular action. The case R v. Boomsdale defines this principle with the courts ruling that Mr Boomsdale customary practice was not sufficient to be deemed an act of negligence
See also
- Legal systems of the world
- Civil law (legal system)
- Consuetudinary
- Common law
- Customary international law
Notes
- ^ In R. v Secretary of State For Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, [1982] 2 All E.R. 118, Lord Denning said "These customary laws are not written down. They are handed down by tradition from one generation to another. Yet beyond doubt they are well established and have the force of law within the community."
- ^ John Henry Merryman, The Common Law Tradition, p. 23 (2d Ed. 1985)
- ^ Constitution Act, 1982, s. 35(1), http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/const/annex_e.html, accessed 29 July 2008.
- ^ Brian Slattery, "Generic and Specific Aboriginal Rights", p. 6, http://www.law.uvic.ca/calder/Papers/Brian%20Slattery.pdf, accessed 21 August 2008; and see: Brian Slattery, in Let Right Be Done: Aboriginal Title, the Calder Case, and the Future of Indigenous Rights, Hamar Foster, Heather Raven and Jeremy Webber (eds.), UBC Press, Vancouver (2007). http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/foster0708.htm, accessed 11 September 2008.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 15 September 2008, at 17:54.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Customary law".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.