Commercial Custom

in international trade, any rule adopted through actual observance over an extended period of time. Such custom is considered a source of law if it is in some form sanctioned by the state, as when reference is made to commercial custom in legislation or when it is applied in judicial practice. In the USSR, the general basis for application of commercial custom is found in the appropriate articles of the civil codes of the Union republics, such as Article 168 of the Civil Code of the RSFSR. According to that article, in the absence of statutory guidance, a planning document, or an actual contract, obligations must be fulfilled in a manner that meets customary requirements.