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There is a surprising resurgence of traditional authority, custom and culture in post-apartheid South Africa, as part of a conscious African renaissance. Yet customary law studies highlight the artificial origins of these 'traditional' institutions. This book poses three questions: what is the relation between the changing legal and socio-political position of traditional authority and customary law in the new South Africa? Why are they changing in this way? and, what does this teach us about the interrelation between laws, politics and culture in the post-modern world? BARBARA OOMEN is Assistant Professor of Law & Development in the University of Amsterdam North America: Palgrave; South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press
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The book is a collection of essays, which aim to situate African legal theory in the context of the myriad of contemporary global challenges; from the prevalence of war to the misery of poverty and disease to the crises of the environment. Apart from being problems that have an indelible African mark on them, a common theme that runs throughout the essays in this book is that African legal theory has been excluded, under-explored or under-theorised in the search for solutions to such contemporary problems. The essays make a modest attempt to reverse this trend. The contributors investigate and introduce readers to the key issues, questions, concepts, impulses and problems that underpin the idea of African legal theory. They outline the potential offered by African legal theory and open up its key concepts and impulses for critical scrutiny. This is done in order to develop a better understanding of the extent to which African legal theory can contribute to discourses seeking to address some of the challenges that confront African and non-African societies alike.
Now in its second edition, this textbook presents a critical rethinking of the study of comparative law and legal theory in a globalising world, and proposes an alternative model. It highlights the inadequacies of current Western theoretical approaches in comparative law, international law, legal theory and jurisprudence, especially for studying Asian and African laws, arguing that they are too parochial and eurocentric to meet global challenges. Menski argues for combining modern natural law theories with positivist and socio-legal traditions, building an interactive, triangular concept of legal pluralism. Advocated as the fourth major approach to legal theory, this model is applied in analysing the historical and conceptual development of Hindu law, Muslim law, African laws and Chinese law.
Textbook and commentary on customary and non-customary legislation relating to land tenure and land ownership in Nigeria.