Reimagining Legal Pluralism in Africa

Anthony C. Diala, Ph.D. (2016), is a distinguished Professor of African law and Director of the Centre for Legal Integration in Africa at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Renowned for his research, he specialises in legal pluralism, comparative law, and human rights in Africa. Christa Rautenbach, LL.D. (2001), is a distinguished Professor of Law at the North-West University, South Africa. A leading scholar in legal pluralism and succession law, she has authored and edited key publications, such as "Introduction to Legal Pluralism in South Africa" (LexisNexis, 2021, 5th ed).

Foreword


Acknowledgements


Notes on Contributors


1 Introduction

  Anthony C. Diala and Christa Rautenbach



Part 1

Succession in African Legal Pluralism

2 State Intervention in the Customary Law of Succession in South Africa: What Remains of Customary Norms in the “Rainbow Nation”?

  Christa Rautenbach



3 The Communal Nature of the South African Customary Law of Succession: Developments in the 21st Century

  Fatima Osman



Part 2

Marriage in African Legal Pluralism

4 Balancing Customary Practices and Human Rights in the Proposed Single Marriage Bill

  Rita Ozoemena, George Fordam Otieno Wara and Khupi Ramarumo



5 Recognition of Woman-to-Woman Marriage under State Laws and African Customary Laws

  Adeniyi Olatunbosun and Samson Odetayo



6 Constitutional Transformation of the Customary Marriage Laws of the Batswana Tribe

  Boitumelo Mmusinyane



Part 3

Islamic and Comparative Law in African Legal Pluralism

7 The Past, Present, and Future of Muslim Personal Law in Ghana: A Judicial Analysis

  Yüksel Sezgin



8 Community Protocols as Self-Determination Strategies: Indigenous Experiences of Legal Pluralism in the Global South – The Cases of Brazil and South Africa

  Rodrigo Ferreira Barros



9 Sustainability of Customary Law Arbitration within the Nigerian Legal System: Judicial Rigidity versus the Organic Fluidity of Customary Law

  Philip O. Odiase



10 “Our Human Rights are Our Land”: Reconceptualising the Right to Property from an Indigenous Perspective

  Davinia Gómez-Sánchez



Part 4

Theoretical Perspectives on African Legal Pluralism

11 Penalising Passion: A Reflection on the Offence of Adultery in the Context of Cultural Relativism and Human Rights

  Jennifer H. Mike



12 Limitations to the Application of Customary Law as Determinants of the Nature of Customary Law in Botswana

  Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila



13 Laws of Motion and Motions of Laws: Towards a Transformative Law-and-Political-Economy Framework for Customary Law in South Africa

  Reshard L. Kolabhai



  Epilogue

  Albie Sachs



Index