Customary Law Status Transformation In The Law Of The Sea

The article analyses the status of legal custom and changes in it as objectively established as a result of repeated revision of the rule of social behaviour, based on considerations of its expediency and usefulness, which is recognised by the state as a legalised form of law.The practical procedure for certifying the customs of commercial seaports differs significantly from the procedure approved by the legislation.In order to avoid unfair practice of certain economic entities in the port, which have no authority over their counterparties, try to use the customs of the ports to confer such authority on themselves, we propose to pay attention to the provision of the Federal Law.It provides for the establishment by the federal executive authority authorised by the Government of the Russian Federation of the General Rules of Navigation and Standing of Ships in Seaports, on the Approaches thereto and Mandatory Ordinances in the Seaport.The inclusion of the existing rules of conduct enshrined by customs into the normative act directly devoted to the rules of conduct in the seaport will abolish the lengthy, time-consuming and financially costly procedure of certification.The formulated conclusions can be applied for further research of commercial seaport customs within the framework of jurisprudence and other sciences by jurists and practitioners.