Custom as a Source of Law

David J. Bederman, Custom as a Source of Law, New York, Cambridge University Press, 2010, 266 p. - ISBN 978-0-521-72182-0 - £19.99/ US$30.95.

David J. Bederman, a professor of international law at Emory University, explores in this volume the operation of customary law in Western secular law systems, especially Anglo-American common law. He examines the role of custom in legal doctrine and court decisions and its recognition in the laws of nations and demonstrates convincingly that custom is not a mere artifact of history but still today has a rightful place as a source of legal obligation in mature and sophisticated legal cultures. The work should be of great interest to canonists because many of the issues discussed have close parallels with the canonical notion of custom and the rules governing the formation of a custom with the force of law (cc. 23-28).

The book is divided into three parts and eleven chapters. Part One considers cultural and historical aspects of customary law, including its roots in Roman law and medieval canon law. Part Two examines the functioning of customary law in domestic legal systems: family law, property, contracts, torts, and constitutional law; and Part Three does the same with respect to international law, both private international law (international commercial usage) and public international law (custom among nations). Many readers will doubtless be surprised to see the extent to which customary law is valued and upheld by courts and legal systems today. The canonical system is by no means unique in this regard.

Throughout the work,...