Balancing emancipatory legal pluralism and cultural relativism
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Date
2022
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
The concept of legal pluralism receives tremendous attention in sub-Saharan Africa. Notably,
this attention arises because of the domineering tendency displayed by transplanted European
legal orders now known as state laws. By demanding compliance with bills of rights, which
are modelled on universalistic human rights that developed in Europe, state laws are steadily
eroding the legitimacy of indigenous African laws. As such, a notable aspect of normative
interaction in Africa is a struggle between indigenous laws and state laws. These struggles
occur alongside socioeconomic transplants, which have steadily affected the normative
behaviour of many Africans. Consequently, an assessment of the status of indigenous African
laws is necessary.
Description
Magister Legum - LLM
Keywords
Cultural relativism, Customary law, Legal transplants, Bill of Rights, South Africa