In everyday life, a person often encounters the fact that, in addition to state laws and regulations, there is also a certain unwritten order of behavior in various situations. This is often called custom. But the term itself is quite complex and ambiguous. So what is “custom”?
Instructions
Step 1
In a widespread everyday meaning, a custom is a certain rule of behavior that has been formed over a long time.
Step 2
Customs played an important role in the development of human society. They began to appear in the pre-literary period and served as a regulator for the life of the community. Since people at that time were far from always able to realize the rational connection between their actions and their results, customs became a form of transfer of experience - in order to survive, it was necessary to master, first of all, the necessary algorithm of actions. Customs and traditions have become the basis of almost all spheres of life, from economics to religion.
Step 3
With the development of society, the emergence of writing and the state, custom has retained its regulatory function. For many centuries, the so-called "customary law", which originates from the traditions of ancestors and is transmitted orally, operated on a par with written law. It could both supplement the written texts of laws and contradict them. And often the established custom became a source for written legislation. An example is the well-known monument of the medieval history of Russia - "Russian Truth", which was a collection of laws based on customary law.
Step 4
Customs play an important role in the modern world. They persist in people's daily lives, for example, in the form of wearing folk costumes or holding traditional holidays. They also exist in the spheres of social activity. For example, in the field of business, there are "business customs" - the rules of conduct when concluding various transactions and other business activities. They are not fixed by law, but, nevertheless, they are widespread in the business environment.
Step 5
Customs also exist in the realm of politics. For example, in some countries, under certain conditions, a politician must leave his post, even if this is not directly indicated in the legislation.
Step 6
In modern jurisprudence, custom has become a source for the formation of case law - a system in which a judge deciding on a case must keep in mind previous interpretations of laws, formalized in the form of judicial decisions.
