Trade Usage as a Regulator of Private-Law Relations

The article examines trade usage as a supplementary regulator of private-law relations within the Russian legal system. It analyses the place of trade usage among the sources of law and identifies the conditions for its admissible application, subject to the priority of statutory rules and contractual terms, as well as the requirements of legal certainty and good faith. Particular attention is paid to distinguishing social customs from legally recognised customs accepted by the state for legal application, and to explaining the factors that account for the limited role of custom in the contemporary legal order. By reference to provisions of the Russian Civil Code and related legislation, the article demonstrates that trade usage performs a gap-filling and specifying function where no direct statutory rule exists and the contract does not exhaust the parties’ rights and obligations. The conclusion emphasises the need for a cautious reliance on trade usage in order to preserve transactional stability, proportional legitimate expectations, and coherence in legal practice.