Custom (law)
Custom in law is the established pattern 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." Customary law exists where:
- a certain legal practice is observed and
- the relevant actors consider it to be law (opinio juris).
Related is the idea of prescription; a right enjoyed through long custom rather than positive law.
Read more about Custom (law): Customary Law and Codification, International Law, Customary Law Within Contemporary Legal Systems, Custom in Torts, Custom Law in India, Customary Legal Systems
Famous quotes containing the word custom:
“In the west, Apollo and Dionysus strive for victory. Apollo makes the boundary lines that are civilization but that lead to convention, constraint, oppression. Dionysus is energy unbound, mad, callous, destructive, wasteful. Apollo is law, history, tradition, the dignity and safety of custom and form. Dionysus is the new, exhilarating but rude, sweeping all away to begin again. Apollo is a tyrant, Dionysus is a vandal.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)