• Legal & judicial reform

Legal & judicial reform

This paper looks at how the various legal systems in Africa could benefit from the rich experiences of traditional and popular judicial systems which play a central role in large parts of the continent especially in rural Africa, but are ignored by the formal state.

In the process, the paper also investigates how these non-state systems could be made more contemporary to reflect the realities of Africa today, while still responding to the specificities and particularities of various communities.

The paper argues that:

• at this juncture, the role of traditional justice resolution mechanisms as implemented by elders is especially critical for the state
• precisely how far governments go in utilising these non-state mechanisms differs from country to country
• generally, the extents to which traditional and informal systems are incorporated into formal systems or remain voluntary dispute resolution forums on the historical circumstances prevailing in a particular country

However, the author says, while weaknesses inherent in these types of institutions must be recognized, the society must move an extra mile to reform them where possible, making them more contemporary and in sync with people’s lives. Successful reform strategies are likely to be those that build on existing strengths and redress obvious weaknesses.

The author concludes that since the simultaneous use of the two systems of justice is a reality for the majority of Africans, a synergy of the two should be more desirable where each system’s comparative advantages are enhanced and disadvantages minimized.

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