Protection Mechanisms for Intangible Benefits According to the Customary Law of Nomadic Peoples

The article considers the mechanisms for protecting intangible benefits in nomadic states. We have analyzed the norms of customary law with particular attention to the legal traditions of Buryats. Special focus is given to the institution of blood feud and the system of compositions. As a result of the study we have come to several key conclusions. First, a historical and legal analysis shows that as early as the era of dual clan organization, intangible benefits became objects of protection. The clan community acted as the bearer of the earliest intangible benefit — honor, while any violation of this value was perceived as harm to the entire collective. Second, at the early stages of social development, blood feud emerged as the most effective mechanism for safeguarding intangible benefits. It was consolidated in the norms of customary law of nomadic societies as a universal means of restoring the disrupted balance of relations between two clan communities. Third, as economic relations, social structure, and political organization became more complex, blood feud gradually lost its status as the sole mechanism for maintaining established order in social relations, including personal non-property relations. Society progressively transitioned to a system of compositions — monetary or property compensation regulated by customary law.