Plural Legal Systems Research Articles

Over a Hundred Years of a National Legal System in Ghana

On 1976, Ghana celebrated the centenary of the establishment of its Supreme Court. But this was more than a centenary of a supreme court. It was in fact the celebration of a hundred years of a national legal system. During the past century, Ghana has operated a pluralistic legal system encompassing English and other Western juristic ideas and procedures on the one hand, and Ghana's own indigenous laws on the other. The burden of this paper is to undertake an appraisal of the efficacy of this legal heritage and to consider the challenge which this legacy poses. The emphasis is not so much on the historical or analytical description of the nation's legal heritage as on a functional review of the totality of Ghana's legal experience in the light of the prevailing social and economic conditions. More precisely, to what extent have the Ghanaian courts and legislative bodies succeeded in moulding both the received law and the indigenous customary law to respond to the pressing social and economic needs of the country? Is there in fact a peculiarly Ghanaian legal tradition?The first Supreme Court was established in 1853, but its jurisdiction was confined to the coastal settlements and it could not pretend to be a national institution. The modern Ghanaian legal system was inaugurated by the Supreme Court Ordinance, 1876, which not only established a national judicial system but also prescribed the law and procedure to be applied in this court system.

Indigenous law and development

Law is often used as a means of social engineering, an analysis of which requires an understanding of the nature, possibilities and limits of law. It is closely related to the way of life of the people it is to serve, it is both dynamic and conservative in nature, and it follows, as well as at times directing, change. Africa is faced with a plurality of legal systems, posing the need for unification, integration, and modernisation. Indigenous or customary law is often regarded as an obstruction to development in Africa. Since customary law is closely related to the life of the people it serves, it cannot be disregarded in programmes of economic and social development.

Conflict of Laws: The Plurality of Legal Systems: An Analysis of 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-63, the Indian Child Welfare Act

Conflict of Laws: The Plurality of Legal Systems: An Analysis of 25 U.S.C. §§ 1901-63, the Indian Child Welfare Act

Legal Pluralism in an American Community: Perspectives on a Civil Trial Court

This article explores the role of a local trial court in terms of the plurality of legal systems—both formal and informal—found in the community in which the court operates. The concept of legal pluralism in American society is examined, and a comparison is made between the study of plural normative systems and the study of disputes and dispute processing. Two examples of legal pluralism drawn from an empirical study of a midwestern community are presented: the first exploring oral contractual agreements among farmers and the second examining formal and informal norms concerning divorce. The application of this form of analysis is found to reveal important distinctions between the manifest and latent functions that the trial court performs in its community setting.

Dimensi Judicial Activism dalam Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi

A transformative amendment of the 1945 Constitution established a separate judicial institution called the Constitutional Court. This institution is believed to serve a strategic role within Indonesia’s plural legal system particularly in the area of constitutional review and constitutional rights protection. However, the performance of the Constitutional Court has attracted controversy. This controversy arises because the Court is concerned with introducing a sociological paradigm of law that embraces substantive justice with a fluid acknowledgment of procedural justice. A key criticism of the Constitutional Court is that the nature of Court decisions has developed into a practice of judicial activism. This article discusses the dimension of judicial activism used by the Constitutional Court on the grounds for protecting constitutional rights of the citizens through its decisions. It also analyses the extent of judicial activism that can be justified in the decision-making process in the Constitutonal Court.

Conflict of Laws in East Africa

African law has come of age. It has its own Journal, its own international association, and increasing attention is being turned to various aspects of the field in all quarters of the globe. A quarter of a century ago the view was expressed that Netherlands Indies jurisprudence and the studies of Dutch-trained jurists on the Indies law would be of extreme value when the interpretation of a comparable plurality of legal systems in tropical Africa was undertaken. The suggestion has been realized. In Holland former students of adat law have turned to African native law and custom. In England the experts on African law frequently rely on such Dutch works as are made available to them. I welcome the opportunity of expressing my esteem, as well as my indebtedness, to the scholar who has provided the solid foundation for a very important segment of African, as it was of Indies, law. To Professor Kollewijn I dedicate this fragment on conflict of laws in East Africa.