DON COSSACKS’ TACIT LAW FAMILY INSTITUTE (XVI - BEGINNING OF XX)

Abstract

An important regulatory role of custom in traditional society analyzes the study of its legal practice, for example in relation of the Don Cossacks ’ Family Institute (XVI the beginning of XX century). Until now, this problem with its specificity uncharacteristic for the corresponding Institute of Russian tacit law has been virtually unknown. Public relations were of communal-territorial nature, in which the Don Army residents ’ individual belongings to the Cossack ’s community, rarely linked by blood ties, obtained the legal continuation. The considered tacit law institute in the Don Cossacks traditional society was embodied in three main forms: «Group family,» «coupled (pair) family» and «patriarchal family».