Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2021
Abstract
The place and function of custom as a species of law—distinguished from custom as simply polite manners or cherished cultural traditions—has long been a source of research and debate among legal theorists and historians. One school of thought, reflecting the authority of written statute in modern jurisprudence, has relegated custom in a juridical sense to “primitive” societies, whereas proper law belongs to a world of state sovereignty. Other scholars have revisited the continuing validity of custom, including a trenchant body of work on the use (and manipulation) of custom in modern colonial regimes. At the same time, some have seen benefits in the acknowledgment of custom as a source of norms. A 2006 collection of articles, for instance, explored ways in which customary law might serve as a better foundation for the sustainable development of natural resources. As David Bederman has written, “Custom can be a signal strength for any legal system—preliterate or literate, primitive or modern.”
Original Publication Citation
Perron, Anthony. “Bad Custom: The Meanings and Uses of a Legal Concept in Premodern Europe,” December 1, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3167/hrrh.2021.470301.
Digital Commons @ LMU & LLS Citation
Perron, Anthony, "Bad Custom: The Meanings and Uses of a Legal Concept in Premodern Europe" (2021). History Faculty Works. 61.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/hist_fac/61
