In December 2025, Dr. Fillers authored an article titled “A Few Observations on Customary International Law in Latvian Court Practice” published in Socrates. While, in principle, customary law is one of the two main sources of international law (together with international treaties), the article examines whether Latvian courts actually apply customary law rules and, if they do, how they determine their meaning. Standard textbooks on international law suggest that customary law rules are identified through the analysis of the actual behaviour and statements of different states and international organisations. However, the author shows that, at least in Latvia, courts rarely apply customary law to begin with and, when they do, they are certainly not keen on researching state practice. These observations might be valuable for further research on application of customary law by judiciaries of other states.
For more, read the new article authored by Dr. Fillers. https://reference-global.com/article/10.25143/socr.33.2025.3.74-81?tab=article