A Place for tradition in an effective criminal justice system: Customary justice in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Zambia

This policy brief summarises research made in 3 African states into both the official and informal roles of customary law and attitudes towards it.

Customary laws regulate the rights, liabilities and duties of different ethnic groupings and were the traditional method of dispute resolution in pre-colonial Africa, administered by chiefs and headmen.

Such law differs from place to place and ethnic group to ethnic group, being a function not of geography as much as tribal allegiance.

As such, customary law can potentially provide justice that is more relevant and accessible than formal criminal justice systems that use concepts imported from colonial powers.

This policy brief summarises research made in three African states into both the official and informal roles of customary law and attitudes towards it. The research aims to understand the role custom currently plays in African legal systems and the extent to which its full potential has been realised.

Author: Simon Robins, Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit,  University of York, UK.