Interest in the common law of the Ossetians used to be and is still of current interest. Nowadays adats of the Ossetians as well as of other mountainous peoples exist both as an important historical resource and as a practical guidance. The author of the article bases this conclusion not only on studies of published collections of common law documents but also on his own experience gained during the extensive travels in the mountain regions taken by him to understand the reason for these archaic norms to survive through ages.