Integrating the Traditional with the Contemporary in Dispute Resolution in Africa

Abstract

Across Africa, traditional justice systems have survived in various forms, serving large populations located mainly in rural communities. A number of accounts of how these systems were used, neglected or reshaped have been written. Importantly, the norms and practices, which make up the fabric of customary law in African societies, are neither homogenous nor static. For these and other reasons, changes in traditional perceptions of justice and in the way justice is administered have over time informed the articulation of concepts, such as, the restatement of customary law and the ascertainment of living customary law.