Abstract
ABSTRACT State laws purport to exercise dominion, notwithstanding people’s preferences for other normative orderings. In Nigeria, an example of this claim is the Limitation of Dowry Law, which purports to regulate the payment of bridewealth. However, the effectiveness of this law is so poor that it is practically a zombie law. So, to what extent do non-state laws wield normative authority in the context of legal and institutional pluralism in South-East Nigeria? Using a needs-based approach and field data collected in 2016, this paper argues that the Dowry Law demonstrates how people are not impressed with policies that purport to regulate their lives without adequate sensitivity to the lived realities that influence their social choices. It further argues that the effectiveness of legal pluralism is dependent on the interaction of the values of indigenous law with the cultural autonomy and economic needs of people who observe non-state laws.
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