Africa's fifty-six sovereign states range widely in their history and structure, and their laws are variously defined by customary law, religious law, common law, Western civil law, other legal traditions, and combinations thereof.[1]
Prior to the colonial era in the nineteenth century, Africa's legal system was dominated by the traditional laws of the native people.[2] The efforts to maintain the indigenous practices against the rising Continental European and Great British powers, though unsuccessful, provoked the development of existing customary laws via the establishment of ‘Native Courts’.[3] While the colonies were governed by the imported legal system and civil codes of the metropoles, the practice of traditional laws continued under supervision, with its jurisdiction restricted to only African citizens.[4]
Following its absolute political independence political independence in the late 1970s, post-colonial Africa continued to employ these introduced laws, with some nations preserving the colonial legislation more than others.[5] In contemporary Africa, the African Union is involved in the development of the continent's legal matters with objectives to promote democratic institutions, encourage unity between the legal systems of the African countries, improve international relations and protect human rights.
^Okeke, Chris Nwachukwu (Winter 2011). "African Law in Comparative Law: Does Comparativism Have Worth?". Roger Williams University Law Review. 16 (Symposium: Methodological Approaches to Comparative Law): 50.
^Milner, Alan (1967). "The Development of African Law". The International Lawyer. 1 (2): 192–201. JSTOR 40704433.
^Joireman, Sandra (2001). "Inherited legal systems and effective rule of law: Africa and the colonial legacy". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 39 (4): 571–596. doi:10.1017/S0022278X01003755.
^Milner, Alan (1967). "The Development of African Law". The International Lawyer. 1 (2): 192–201. JSTOR 40704433.
^Okeke, Chris Nwachukwu (Winter 2011). "African Law in Comparative Law: Does Comparativism Have Worth?". Roger Williams University Law Review. 16 (Symposium: Methodological Approaches to Comparative Law): 50.
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