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(plural, goods), in civil law, a material object; the subject matter of the right of ownership and other property rights. The law, which establishes the legal treatment of various goods, ensures the owner the opportunity to possess, use, and dispose of an article to varying degrees.
Differences in the purposes of goods are the basis of their legal classification. From the legal standpoint, goods are divided into means of production and articles of consumption. (For example, in the USSR only small implements of production necessary to farm a personal plot, necessary to everyday life, and so forth can be the subjects of the right of personal property). Other categories include individually defined and consequently nonreplaceable goods (an automobile, a residence, and others) and goods defined by generic attributes (number, mass, measure), which are consequently replaceable (a ton of coal, a liter of oil); goods that can be divided into parts without losing their qualities (a liter of milk, a long loaf of bread) and indivisible goods (a gun or a stamp collection); consumable goods that are used once (food products and industrial raw materials) and nonconsumable goods that are used for long periods (a book or machine); and primary goods and accessories (for example, the key to a lock). Unless otherwise established by a contract, an accessory shares the fate of the primary article: the sale of a lock signifies the sale of the key, and the donation of a violin entails the transfer of the bow. Goods are also divided into those withdrawn from circulation, with which transactions cannot be made (in the USSR, the land, its interior, the forests, and water); goods that are restricted in circulation, which can be acquired with special permission (weapons, poisons, precious metals in raw form, ingots, and coin); and goods that are unrestricted in circulation.
E. G. POLONSKII
(1) One of the main journalistic genres. The article interprets and analyzes an important event or series of events and presents logical summaries and conclusions affirming specific concepts and ideas. An article may be propagandistic, problem-oriented, critical, scientific, or scholarly. The party and soviet press has developed special types of articles, including directive articles and articles describing advanced achievements.
(2) A section of an official legal act or document, such as an article of a law or of an international treaty.