BOOK REVIEW The Future of African Customary Law

…is intended to promote discussion and understanding of customary law and to explore its continued relevance in sub-Saharan Africa…[It] considers the characteristics of customary law and efforts to ascertain and codify customary law, and how this body of law differs in content, form, and status from legislation and common law. It also addresses a number of substantive areas of customary law including the role and power of traditional authorities; customary criminal law; customary land tenure, property rights and intestate succession; and the relationship between customary law, human rights and gender equality. 

N MOOSA PER / PELJ 2012(15)5 634 / 638 countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda and Tanzania, and even in the final chapter extends its scope to ancient Egypt.Of a total of 21 chapters, four focus on Ghana.At least another four chapters are written from a South African perspective, and there is a chapter on each of three neighbouring countries, namely Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia.
The headings under which the topics unfold in the book, and as listed in the quotation above, are dealt with in six parts.Part One of the book presents a comprehensive and objective discussion, with useful insights, of the nature and future of African customary law.In the first chapter Goodman's 'Survey of Customary Laws in Africa in Search of Lessons for the Future' introduces the relevant topic well, and with a fresh perspective reaffirms the opinion that customary laws in Africa are still relevant in the modern nation-state.The topics are also well dealt with in some of the more general contributions in other parts of the book, such as those of Higgins as 'showing one another humanity') and reconciliation, 'indigenous "reasonable man" tests' and 'ethnic vicarious liability', various types of female genital mutilation, and magic, witchcraft and cleansing rituals.Used in at least three of the chapters, the 'repugnancy standard' is a useful descriptor to capture some of colonial and postcolonial Africa's legal history.South Africa's current Constitution and its Bill of Rights 2 is to some extent continuing in the same vein.
Ubink's chapter lays the foundation for Part Two.Focusing on Ghana, it deals with the application of customary law in African state courts.The two other contributions on Ghana deal with the following topics: the rule of customary law in the administration of justice and the ascertainment of customary law (Akamba and Tufuor); and, concluding the discussion in Part Three on the role and power of traditional authorities, Abotsi and Galizzi engage in an exciting discussion on the coexistence of traditional leadership and constitutionally established authorities and their roles.Chapter Nineteen examines the relationship between customary law and women's human rights in Uganda.The author, Twinomugisha, presents a contemporary understanding of the relationship between customary law and women's human rights in Uganda.While he challenges the traditional view that women's human rights and customary law are irreconcilable, he is cognisant of the fact that certain customary norms affecting women do not conform to the Constitution of Uganda and therefore qualifies his initial opinion.
The fact that no general answer is readily available to the question of whether more or less African customary law (including its Traditional Authorities) has been recognised since 'decolonisation' is apparent from some of the contributions, for example, Morapedi's discussion of the resurgence of the institution of chieftaincy in Botswana (where the institution remains relevant).That predictions about the future of African customary law also depend upon many variables which make it difficult to offer recommendations is also evident from some contributions, such as Banda's chapter in Part Four 'Romancing Customary Tenure', which examines contemporary developments affecting customary tenure in sub-Saharan Africa.Although the author

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Fenrich in Part Six (dealing with the tension between the operation of traditional legal systems and the gender equality commitment among African states, eg Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa), of Bond in Part Six (dealing with the Women's Convention CEDAW and the African Charter on Human and People's Rights), of Oba in Part One (engaging in a grounded discussion on the nature of African customary law in the colonial and post-colonial eras) and of Joireman in Part Four (who addresses the land question in Africa and considers how land has sustained the authority of customary leaders), to mention a few.Interactions between modernity, as represented by constitutions, statutes and other 'common laws', and what remains of or has become of traditional African customary law obviously dominate the book.Some chapters also deal with international and regional instruments, especially from a gender perspective.The concluding chapter in Part Six ventures into the academically controversial world of beliefs about the 'ancient past'.The chapter focuses on ancient Egyptian laws and practices which the author (Camara) compares with customary laws in West African countries.As is also evident from its comprehensive index, among the traditional beliefs and (human rights) values discussed in the book are ubuntu (which is roughly translated