bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Legal and Constitutional Changes in Nigeria Under the Military Government
Authors: Keay E. A.
Published: July 2009

Prior to the events which began on January 15th, 1966, Nigeria was a Federal country consisting of four Regions and the Federal Territory of Lagos (a small area including the capital and adjoining areas). Each Region had its own Constitution providing for a bicameral legislature; a Westminster-type ministerial system and cabinet with collective responsibility; a Regional High Court, from which restricted appeal lay to the Supreme Court of Nigeria; a Regional public service with power of appointment and dismissal vested in an independent Public Service Commission; and over all a Governor whose functions were those of a constitutional Head and carefully spelt out in the Constitution. In addition, the North's Constitution provided for the Sharia Court of Appeal, a court of status coordinate with that of the High Court and having exclusive and final appellate jurisdiction in civil cases based on Moslem family law.
Intertribal Tensions In Some Local Government Courts In Colonial Tanganyika: I
Authors: Beidelman T. O.
Published: July 2009

This paper is a sequel to one published in Anthropos (Beidelman, 1961f). It is mainly concerned with the interrelations between various tribal groups in so far as these provide insight into some of the inherent difficulties in the policy of Indirect Rule in an African political unit. By such an analysis I hope to support further a contention long made by many critics of past colonial policy, viz., that Indirect Rule was workable only through a serious discrepancy between promulgated public policy and actual political action, a discrepancy which in the long run contributed to many of the difficulties of present-day administration and the effecting of social change in contemporary Africa.
Customary Oathing and the Legal Process in Kenya
Authors: Durand Philip P.
Published: July 2009

The customary oath is woven into the fabric of African traditional life. Owing, however, to the world-wide publicity which was generated by the Mau Mau emergency in the nineteen-fifties, and the more recent publicity following allegations of oathing after the assassination of the late T. J. Mboya in Nairobi in July, 1969, oathing and Kenya have become closely associated in the public mind. The present state of the law with regard to oaths and oathing in Kenya is not entirely satisfactory, and in certain instances it must be stated that the law appears to be honoured more in the breach than in the observance.
The Interpretation of the Land Tenure Law of Northern Nigeria
Authors: McDowell C. M.
Published: July 2009

English law, as limited or modified, applies as one of the residual systems of law in Northern Nigeria, the other being customary law. The assumption underlying both the reception of English law and the retention of customary law was that both would be eroded and a new system would be created by local legislation and local decisions. While some erosion of both systems has taken place, such a process is necessarily slow and there remains a large area of law where the relationship of the received and retained law to local legislation is difficult to elaborate with any degree of precision. This is particularly true of the relationship of English law to the provisions of the Land Tenure Law and its predecessor, the Land and Native Rights Ordinance. The primary difficulty encountered in this context is the analogy which can be drawn between a lease in English form and the statutory right of occupancy, since the latter interest is granted by the appropriate authority normally, although not necessarily, for a definite term of years and may be governed by covenants which relate to rent, use and occupation, assignment and subletting, recovery of possession and so on.
Two Early Surveys of Native Courts in Uganda
Authors: Morris H. F.
Published: July 2009

The Entebbe Secretariat archives contain two interesting sets of reports on native courts compiled by district officers at the request of the Government in 1909 and 1926 respectively. The interest of the 1909 reports lies principally in the high degree of development and formalisation of the courts in the kingdoms of Buganda, Ankole and Toro, which they reveal at this early stage in the administration of the Protectorate. The Agreements of 1900 and 1901 with Buganda, Toro and Ankole had implicitly recognised the existence and jurisdiction of the indigenous courts of these kingdoms. The Buganda Agreement stated that the Kabaka should exercise direct rule over the natives of Buganda administering justice through the Lukiko and his officials. No limitation was placed on the jurisdiction of the Kabaka's courts over Buganda save in so far as appeal lay to the High Court where sentences of more than five years’ imprisonment or a fine of over £100 were imposed, whilst if other sentences were imposed, which seemed to the Commissioner to be disproportionate or “inconsistent with humane principles”, he had the right of remonstrance with the Kabaka who would then have to reconsider the sentence. Moreover, the death sentence could not be carried out without the sanction of the Commissioner. Under the Ankole and Toro Agreements “justice as between natives of the district” was to be administered by the county chiefs with appeal to the Ruler's court and a further appeal in serious cases to the officer administering the district.
Customary Law and the Economy
Authors: Snyder Francis
Published: July 2009

In this paper I discuss some aspects of the relationship of African customary law to the economy. Such a vast topic potentially embraces at least three different themes: the economic context in which African customary law has developed and operates today; the economic consequences and implications of different African customary laws; and the relationship between customary law and the economic aspect of society. These three themes inevitably overlap, but while recognising their interconnections I shall concentrate primarily on the third. My principal aim is to identify some of the linkages between customary law and economic relations, especially those linkages which become manifest during broad social changes.

An examination of the relationship between customary law and the economy in Africa almost ineluctably requires an historical perspective. This is so, first, because, as I suggest later, customary law is historically specific: it developed in particular historical circumstances and in close conjunction with the formation of the colonial state. Thus, the foundations of customary law in Africa lie partly in the development of capitalism and its expansion from Europe during the colonial era. These interrelated processes have decisively moulded and subtly shaped the law, legal institutions and legal professions of contemporary Africa.

More generally, however, it is essential today to envisage the possibility of new, alternative forms of development and social regulation. The particular forms of legal pluralism which characterise third world countries indicate, in many cases, that the subsumption of African economies within capitalist relations of production and exchange has thus far been merely partial and formal.
What is to be done with African Customary Law?
Authors: Allott A. N.
Published: July 2009

What I should like to do today is to examine the evolution of customary law in English-speaking Africa over the last three decades. I have chosen my starting date of 1950 with a clear intention in view; because the developments that we observe currently taking place often find their origins in the colonial period. They do this in two ways. First, the laws which the African countries inherited at independence had been crucially shaped by the colonial experience; and secondly, some of the projects of law reform which have either taken place or are now under discussion trace back to initiatives and discussions which occurred during the latter part of colonial rule. There is a further factor: quite apart from conscious efforts to analyse and change the laws, the laws themselves, of whatever kind, have been exposed to the forces of economic, political and social change, which are continually working away below the surface, sapping the foundations of the existing legal systems.

My own qualifications for this task I do not feel that I should dwell on. However, it is worth remarking, as symptomatic of the profound upheavals which have occurred within the period, that I was appointed to the first post in Britain of lecturer in African law in 1948. This was the period of the immediate post-war reconstruction of the British colonial empire in Africa. Things were not the same as they had been up to the Allied victory in 1945.
Changing the Terms of the Debate: A Visit to a Popular Tribunal in Mozambique
Authors: Sachs Albie
Published: July 2009

It was July 1979 and we were in a small village in northern Mozambique, 1500 km from the capital. In the background I could hear viva's being shouted and drums being beaten but my excitement was of another kind, the cool excitement of an English-trained legal empiricist about to discover facts, in this case, not only facts, but virgin documentary facts. Because right in front of me on the table in the shade of a large cashew tree, lay a big book with heavy binding, and in that book lay the first judgments of one of the first Popular Tribunals to be created in the first revolutionary country in Southern Africa. I had already sat in on the lectures given at the Law Faculty to the young law students who were to constitute small brigades to start what was called the implantation of Popular Justice. I had heard from veterans of the armed struggle for national liberation how the basic principles of this system had evolved in the Liberated Zones even before Independence; how Popular Justice meant justice that was popular in form, in that its language was open and accessible; popular in its functioning, in that its proceedings were based essentially on active community participation; and popular in its substance, in that judges drawn directly from the people were to give judgment in interests of the people.
Constitutional Guarantee of Property Rights in Nigeria
Authors: Ezejiofor G.
Published: July 2009

Since 19592 a bill of rights has always been written into successive Nigerian Constitutions. When the Military took over the government of the country in 1966, it suspended3 or amended a number of the provisions of the governing 1963 Constitution. Quite remarkably Chapter 3 of that Constitution embodying the bill of rights is among the portions that have not been altered or suspended. It is therefore significant that even under the military regime the fundamental rights of the individual are protected by the Constitution. It must however be observed that, before the military intervention, the bill of rights was entrenched in the Constitution since the rights and the procedure for their enforcement could only be altered through a rather complicated process in which both the central and regional legislatures had to participate.4 Since the army take-over no part of the Constitution is entrenched. This is because section 4 of the 1963 Constitution providing for a stiff and complicated amending procedure of some of its provisions has been suspended5 and the Supreme Military Council is now competent to enact any laws on any topic by decree6 and no decree is required to be promulgated in any special form or through any special procedure. A decree is valid once it is signed by the Head of the Federal Military Government.7
Private Law in Ethiopia
Authors: Brietzke Paul
Published: July 2009

In 1960, the Government made the first modern attempt at a comprehensive and formal statement of Ethiopian private law by promulgating Civil and Commercial Codes.2 An earlier source of private law rules, the Fetha Negast (Law of the Kings) has been part of the Ethiopian legal experience since at least 1686, when it was translated from the Roman-influenced thirteenth century Nomocanon of the Egyptian Coptic Church. There is no evidence that this compilation was ever officially promulgated, and it was often subordinated to “equity” (personal feelings of justice influenced by the need to maintain social harmony) and the territorial application of diverse and unrecorded traditional laws.3
Human and Peoples′ Rights: Distinctive Features of the African Charter
Authors: D'Sa Rose M.
Published: July 2009

The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights was adopted unanimously in June, 1981, by the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.). Although it is not yet in force its adoption represents an important landmark in the protection and promotion of human rights on the African continent. The O.A.U. has in the past been sharply criticized for its apparent indifference to the suppression of human rights in a number of independent African States. Although the founding Charter of the O.A.U. of 1961 makes reference to the issue of human rights in Article II l (e) and also mentions in general terms the need to promote the welfare and well-being of the African people, its primary concern has been with the eradication of colonialism andapartheidon the African continent. In this context it is clearly committed to the achievement of human rights and self-determination of the peoples of South Africa and Namibia. However, other breaches of human rights on a widespread scale, such as the massacre of thousands of the Bahutu tribe of Burundi in 1973, was neither discussed nor condemned by the O.A.U. Similarly, the mass murders and other atrocities during the former regime of Idi Amin (Uganda 1971–79) and subsequently and also those which took place during the regime of Jean-Bedel Bokassa, (Central African Republic 1966–79) and Marcias
Resilience of the Status Quo: the Sad Story of the Zambian Lands Bill, 1994
Authors: Kaunda Moses
Published: July 2009

In the period since the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) was voted into government in 1991 by an overwhelming majority, the Lands Bill, 1994 (hereafter referred to as “the Bill”) easily stands out as the most publicly discussed piece of proposed legislation. When the Bill was introduced to Parliament debate was deferred sine die because most members of Parliament (MPs) demanded more time to examine its provisions and consult over proposed changes. Postponement was followed by a one-day seminar on die Bill organized by the Ministry of Legal Affairs. Thereafter, the government initiated a programme to explain the Bill to the public: on 29 September, 1994, a chiefs' workshop was arranged at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, but this came to nothing because invited chiefs did not attend. Then the government conceived provincial programmes for die public discussion of the Bill, but diese were then postponed indefinitely, as explained below.
An Examination of the Position of Illiterates in Nigerian Law
Authors: Nwogugu E. I.
Published: July 2009

Nigeria like most other under-developed countries is presently faced with the enormous task of educating the main bulk of her citizens as one of the corner-stones for the economic development of the country. At present, the literate population, i.e. those who can read or write in any of the local languages or English, is well under ten per cent of the entire population of the country. Thus, we find that the vast majority of the people are illiterate not only in the local languages but also in the English language, which is the lingua franca of Nigeria. Illiteracy, therefore, is for Nigeria a fact of life with which the law makers have to reckon. English being the lingua franca has meant that the bulk of official and commercial transactions are done in that language, though only a minute percentage of the population is conversant with it.
The Role of UNAFRI in the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders:An Overview
Authors: Shaidi Leonard P.
Published: July 2009

The Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (the Ninth Congress), was held in Cairo, Egypt from 29 April to 8 May, 1995. It followed the sequence of United Nations quinquennial congresses on the prevention of crime and die treatment of offenders which began in 1955 as a direct continuation of die international penitentiary congresses that had been organized by the International Penal and Penitentiary Commission (IPPC) since the 19tii century. The congresses are convened by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on die basis of General Assembly Resolution 415(V) of 1950. The Nindi Congress was attended by delegates from 138 states, several United Nations offices and organs, including specialized agencies, various inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and over 190 individual experts. This was die first time the Congress was held on the African continent.
Techniques of Choice of Law in Conflict of Personal Laws
Authors: Tier Akolda M.
Published: July 2009

The division of state inhabitants into communities living under different laws opens up possibilities of conflicts problems on an unprecedented scale. These problems may arise not only when members of different communities enter into legal relationships, but also when the parties, whether members of the same community or not, choose to regulate their legal relations in accordance with another personal law. The occurrence of either of these circumstances poses some problems for which the law is difficult or uncertain. This study attempts to examine with particular reference to the Sudan the problem of choice of law to be administered.

In examining the problem of choice of law I shall attempt to show and compare how different systems of personal laws (i.e., where personal laws are administered in their respective courts of nationality, religion or ethnic community and courts which administer two or more personal laws) try to solve choice of law problems. It is apparent that the existence of thelex foriin the former and its absence in the latter should affect the approach to the problem of choice of law. The contrast between the two approaches is striking. The contention here is that systems of personal laws always apply theirlex foriand treat questions of choice of law as mere questions of competence.
Legislative History of the Legal Regime of Price Control in Ghana
Authors: Ansa-Asare K.
Published: July 2009

The most common consumer complaint in Ghana now is that prices of consumer goods are too dear. It is common knowledge that prices of basic goods change almost every month. Life in Ghana shows that price control has been one of the difficult problems that successive governments have faced since the termination of colonial rule.

The primary intention of this article is to present a descriptive account of price control legislation in Ghana, in the hope that it will interest as well as be informative to the reader.
Changing African Perspectives on the Right of Self-Determination in the Wake of the Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples′ Rights
Authors: Blay S. Kwaw Nyameke
Published: July 2009

In the history of modern Africa the issue of self-determination has always been of special significance. For a better part of a century and in some cases more, almost the entire continent was subject to colonisation by various European powers. The end of the Second World War and the subsequent adoption of the United Nations Charter, incorporating the principle of self-determination, heralded a new phase for the African colonies in international relations. Defined in its simplest terms, self-determination is the principle by virtue of which a people freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Selfdetermination is in essence the right of self-government. A territory exercises the right by either opting to establish itself as an independent state, associating with an existing state or by accepting to be integrated into an existing state. Self-determination so defined was thus used as the basis for decolonisation in Africa and provided the foundations for equal statehood for the former colonies of Africa in international relations.

After decolonisation, the issue of self-determination still persists in Africa attracting sentiments and implications well exemplified by the conflicts Over Biafra and Katanga in the 1960s and currently in Eritrea, the Tigray province of Ethiopia and the Southern Sudan. The very successful propagation of self-determination as the right of every people to self-government by African nationalists during the colonial days seems to have left behind a legacy of a question for post-independence Africa—is the ideal of self-determination
An Analysis of Homicide in the Afro-Arab Sudan
Authors: Fluehr-Lobban Carolyn
Published: July 2009

This paper has attempted to bring out the essentials of a larger study of Sudanese homicide. This is the first study of homicide and major crime in the Sudan which embraces the many diverse ethnic groups that constitute the Sudanese population. It is the first time that so many cases have been analysed for the purpose of disclosing sociological patterns of killing and violence in Sudanese society. Such studies are rare for African countries and practically non-existent for the Arab countries. The Sudan's unique position, straddling both the Arab and African worlds, make this study in part both a study of African homicide and of homicide in the Middle East.
Land Law and the Transformation of Customary Tenure: The Mbeere Case
Authors: Glazier Jack
Published: July 2009

The Mbeere of Central Kenya have recently been the focus of a programme of land adjudication and registration. Since the early 1960s when the Mbeere anticipated that they too would undergo the land reform process that had been applied elsewhere in Kenya, much of their attention has been riveted to the question of land tenure change. The new mode of holding land promises security of tenure through a registered title, significantly reduced land litigation, and rural development through agricultural loans for which titled land will stand as collateral. Ironically, the implementation of national land legislation has created great insecurity since it has set in motion an unprecedented amount of litigation.
The Changing Law and Law Reform in Ghana
Authors: Ollennu N. A.
Published: July 2009

Many books and learned articles have been written on African Law within the last two or three decades. Almost every one of them has attempted a definition of law, custom and customary law, as a basis for its particular object. Among these definitions is Elias's adaptation of Goodhart's definition of law; this definition appeals to us as it serves many purposes. That adaptive definition is: “ ‘The law of a given community is the body of rules which are recognised as obligatory…’ This recognition must be in accordance with the principles of their social imperative, because operating in every community is a dynamic of social conduct, an accepted norm of behaviour which the vast majority of its members regard as absolutely necessary for the common weal. This determinant of the ethos of the community is its social imperative.” We would not of course include within the concept of law forms of social conduct which are concerned with the less important aspects of social life, which though well-established, yet pertain only to the sphere of social formalities and when violated, merely excite the displeasure or contempt of society; we are concerned with those norms the violation of which calls for the employment of “sanctions directly affecting the liberty, property, or status of the offender (such as imprisonment, fines or loss of civil rights)”. But we would include also those “concerned with serious business of society, the work that must be accomplished in order to secure and guarantee satisfactory conditions for collective life,” which Edgar Bodenheimer classifies as “customary law”.
The European Investment Bank's Promotion of Industry in the Associated African and Malagasy States
Authors: McCleland D. G.
Published: July 2009

An insistent demand from developing countries for capital to finance their economic growth has characterized the second half of this century. The transfer of resources from industrialized countries has, however, encountered difficulties, on the one hand, because of growing economic nationalism which has limited the scope for direct investment and, on the other hand, because of the emergence of excessive debt service burdens in developing countries. As a result, a variety of ways of transferring resources, which would be acceptable to donor countries as well as to the recipients, have had to be explored. One of the means to which the European Economic Community has resorted is the extension of the functions of the European Investment Bank, working in conjunction with the Economic Development Fund, to provide financial assistance outside the territorial limits of the European Community under a series of agreements including successive agreements with the Associated African and Malagasy States.
Comparative Table of Banking Legislation in Africa
Authors: Tomkins H. J.
Published: July 2009

This Table summarises the effect of legislation in the different countries covered in regard to: the definition of “bank” and “banking”; how banks are distinguished from other financial institutions; restrictions on use of “bank”, etc.; statutory requirements for formation of a bank; licensing or registering of banks; control over banks’ ratios, reserves, deposits, etc.; and provisions for the protection of customers.
Some Notes on the Concept of Custom in Lesotho
Authors: Hamnett Ian
Published: July 2009

This article offers some perspectives on the concept of “custom” in Lesotho, more particularly in the Court of the Judicial Commissioner on the one hand, and in the Basotho Courts on the other. The period reviewed is that from 1944 to 1968. The history and structure of the courts in Lesotho are not rehearsed, since good accounts exist in accessible publications.
Eritrean Customary Law
Authors: Russell F. F.
Published: July 2009

Eritrea is a territory of about 46,000 sq. miles on the western shore of the Red Sea. It is bounded on the south by Ethiopia, on the north and west by the Sudan, and on the south east by French Somaliland. Its one million inhabitants are divided almost equally between Coptic Christians and Moslems, with a few Europeans, mostly Italians. Eritrea was an Italian colony from 1890 to the 1947 peace treaty which ended World War II, under which Italy renounced all claim to it. The British conquered it in 1941, and administered it until 15th September, 1952, when it became federated with Ethiopia as an autonomous unit, pursuant to a resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, passed 2nd December, 1950.2 Eritrea today resembles an American state, with jurisdiction over its local laws, including customary law.
Commissioner of Police v. Musa Kommanda and Aspects of the Working of the Gold Coast Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance
Authors: Hiskett Mervyn
Published: July 2009

During the academic year 1975–76 I carried out research in the Ghana National Archives to collect information on the history of the Hausaphone Muslim communities in the Gold Coast. In the course of it a number of documents came to light from the administrative files of the colonial period that showed how the Gold Coast Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance had worked—or failed to work—and the kinds of problems it had given rise to in a typical Muslim Hausaphone zongo, that is Muslim quarter, of the southern Gold Coast.
Introduction: Forty Years on—A Re-Reading of African Law
Authors: Slinn Peter , Coldham Simon , Hatchard John
Published: July 2009

It is a happy coincidence indeed that in the 40th year of publication, the Editors of this Journal have had the privilege of publishing a liber amicorum for Professor James Read. In 1996 he retired from 40 years of teaching in the University of London, since 1974 as Professor of Comparative Public Law with special reference to Africa, a Chair which he retains in an Emeritus capacity. It has been a formidable task to attempt to do justice to the work of this “able, patient, effective and thoughtful scholar” (to adopt the words of two of our contributors) to African legal studies. However, this volume contains essays by colleagues and erstwhile students upon subjects which will at least in part reflect the richness and diversity of James Read’s interests.
Legal Pluralism and the Search for Justice
Authors: Woodman Gordon R.
Published: July 2009

Twenty-four years ago Henry Morris and Jim Read, inIndirect Rule and the Search for Justice, provided a wealth of illuminating information about the history of the legal systems of the East African colonial states. But an even greater merit of their book than its detailed data is its coherence and depth of analysis. These result from their adherence to a constant reference point, the “search for justice”. This concept may still be useful in the study of law in Africa today.
Good Governance and Aid in Africa
Authors: McAuslan Patrick
Published: July 2009

Strong criticisms and statements of concern about corruption and governance in Africa are being voiced more and more often. What is highly significant is that increasingly open and fierce criticism is being voiced by commentators in and from Africa itself. It is this fact that emboldens me to offer the following analysis and set of proposals for addressing the issues of good governance and aid in Africa. I shall concentrate principally on Anglophone Africa in which Jim Read did most of his work.
The 1995 Democratic Constitution of Malawi
Authors: Mutharika A. Peter
Published: July 2009

On 17 May, 1995, the Malawi National Assembly adopted a democratic constitution. In terms of Malawi’s post-colonial history, the adoption of the constitution was an unprecedented event. For a period of 30 years, Malawi had been subjected to a one-party dictatorship led by Dr Hastings Banda. Supported over the years by the West because of its anti-communist rhetoric, the Banda regime found itself abandoned with the ending of the Cold War and the collapse of apartheid in South Africa. Pressure from internal and external groups led to a referendum on the oneparty state in June 1993 which the Banda regime lost and to the first multi-party elections in May 1994 which the regime also lost. A day before the 1994 elections, the Malawi National Assembly adopted a Provisional Constitution for a period of 12 months. Pursuant to section 212 of the Provisional Constitution, the National Constitutional Conference was held in February 1995 for the purpose of making recommendations to the National Assembly on a permanent constitution. Rather than replace or repeal the Provisional Constitution, the National Assembly decided in April 1995 to make modest amendments to it in order to address some of the more blatant deficiencies that were identified at the Constitutional Conference. During the coming years, the Law Commission will make a detailed study of the entire document, make recommendations to the Minister of Justice and, it is hoped, address some of the obvious drafting oversights.
The Rights of Detained and Accused Persons in Post-Banda Malawi
Authors: Wanda B. P.
Published: July 2009

The new Constitution of Malawi came into force provisionally on 18 May, 1994. It replaced the Republican Constitution of 1966 which had been amended in 1993 in order to allow for the re-introduction of a multi-party democracy, the reincorporation, as an interim measure, of the Bill of Rights as contained in the Independence Constitution of 1964, and the abolition of the life presidency created under section 10(3) of the 1966 Constitution as amended in 1970 so as to provide that Dr Banda was to be president of the Republic for his lifetime.
Constitutionalism in Zambia: Past, Present and Future
Authors: Ndulo Muna B. , Kent Robert B.
Published: July 2009

Writing about any constitution is tricky business and that of Zambia is no exception. Four constitutions in 32 years hardly represents a settled state of affairs, and an end, or even a stopping place of long duration, does not appear in sight. This is, however, an interesting, even exciting period in Zambia’s brief constitutional history. The subject cries out for an examination of where the country has been, where it is, and where, at least in the opinion of these observers, it ought to be heading.

We are happy to undertake this brief assessment in the context of recognition of the career of Professor J.S. Read. This able, patient, effective, and thoughtful scholar has been a mentor to generations of African lawyers, including Zambians. To both of us Jim Read has been a warm and generous friend, from time to time a wise counsellor who has contributed much to our own efforts.
A Dual System of Land Tenure: The Experience of Southern Nigeria
Authors: Park A. E. W.
Published: July 2009

In the southern parts of Nigeria, as in many other African territories,2 two systems of law, English and customary law, are both in force at the same time. That situation naturally presents problems of what are termed internal conflicts: which system of law should be applied in a particular case? When, as is most common, such a problem arises directly out of some transaction, the difficulty is not likely to be great, since there have been enacted by statute fairly precise rules which cover that sort of situation.3 Those rules, however, are framed in terms of the persons involved in the case (are they “natives” or “non-natives”?4) and of agreements and transactions between such persons. There can arise other issues involving conflicts where the statutes give little guidance, and it is the object of this article to examine one such issue, namely the applicability of English and customary law to land, as opposed to the persons owning it. Only the Nigerian authorities on the point are discussed, but it is fair to assume that the problems with which they have dealt are typical of the experience of many other countries where a system of law of European origin and adapted to the purposes of a commercial society has been superimposed upon an indigenous law which has mainly evolved in static, rural communities.
A Review of Rent Control Legislation in Botswana
Authors: Frimpong Kwame
Published: July 2009

The subject “Rent Control” is very wide as it covers many areas. It may deal with the control of rents in respect of agricultural land, industrial property or it may be limited either to dwelling houses or commercial buildings. For the purposes of this paper, “rent control” focuses on the dwelling or residential houses and commercial buildings in the country. The obvious reason is that the current rent control legislation is limited to those properties because of the apparent high level of the rents they attract.

The use of legislation to control rents of premises is a product of the twentieth century. In England, for instance, the first attempt to control rents was in 1915, during the First World War. It is interesting to note that the first legislation on rent control in England coincided with the outbreak of the First World War. Rent controls in Nigeria and Ghana were also influenced by the First and Second World Wars respectively. The reason for the introduction of rent control legislation to coincide with world wars is not hard to find. Wars generally create shortages of a number of essential goods because many resources are diverted to the production of armaments and the labour force is channelled to the battle front. Housing is one of the needs of mankind which usually becomes scarce as a result of the outbreak of a major war like the last two World Wars.
The Beleaguered Fortress: Reflections of the Independence of Nigeria's Judiciary
Authors: Olowofoyeku A. A.
Published: July 2009

Informed opinions on the judiciary in Nigeria vary between the rather equivocal comment by a senior member of the bar that “The judiciary is dead”, or the view that it is “on trial” and the more compassionate view that it is a “beast of burden” or a “sacrificial lamb”. These remarks derive from observations of the (alleged or actual) behaviour of the judges, and their independence, impartiality and integrity. While the metaphors quoted above may be subject to various interpretations, they do raise considerable curiosity and interest as to why any judiciary should attract such comments, and perhaps to what extent the comments are justified. This article, in attempting to answer these and similar nagging questions concerning Nigeria's judiciary, examines the truly multi-faceted question of judicial independence by assessing the Nigerian situation in the light of the factors that are considered vital to ensuring or guaranteeing an independent judiciary.

Interestingly, although section 17(1)(e) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that “The independence, impartiality and integrity of Courts of Law, and easy accessibility thereto shall be secured and maintained”, this provision is under the chapter titled “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy”, whose provisions are non-justiciable by virtue of section 6(6) (c) of the Constitution. Thus the high-sounding declaration of section 17(1)(e) has no bite, and what could have been a constitutional guarantee of judicial independence is no more than a slogan.
The Aouzou Strip Dispute—A Legal Analysis
Authors: Naldi Gino J.
Published: July 2009

The outbreak of further hostilities between Chad and Libya in August 1987 was occasioned by a dispute concerning sovereignty over the so-called Aouzou Strip in northern Chad. The extent of Libyan involvement in Chad is motivated to a large degree by this territorial claim. This dispute must be distinguished from Libya's wider ambitions for Arab unity or its involvement in Chad's civil war, although it would appear true to say that Libya was thereby seeking to consolidate its hold on the Aouzou Strip. Documentary evidence exists to support the contention that a genuine territorial claim exists. In addition, it is interesting to note that, while Libya appeared to have resigned itself to the victory of President Habre's forces in the civil war and the defeat and expulsion of its forces from the rest of Chad in the early part of 1987, the capture of Aouzou by Habre's forces in August 1987 resulted in an ongoing military response brought to a tentative conclusion in September 1987 by the OAU. Colonel Gadafi has been reported as saying that, if Chad ceded the Aouzou Strip, he would regard the war as over and would never again interfere in Chad's internal affairs. Moreover, Colonel Gadafi's support for the rival factions in Chad has wavered according to their position on the question of the Aouzou Strip. The purpose of this short article is to analyse Libya's territorial claim to the disputed territory.
The Military and the Criminal Law in Nigeria
Authors: Owoade M. Adekunle
Published: July 2009

Nigeria was under military rule from 1966 to 1979, and from December 1983 to date; it had a short civilian interregnum from 1979 to 1983 during the era of President Shehu Shagari.

This rather long period of military administration in Nigeria brought along with it changes in the scope of substantive criminal law as well as procedural changes. This can be partly explained on the ground that the criminal law must react and adjust to societal changes and formulate its own rules to combat them. However, an assessment of the attitude of the military to criminal law might suggest that certain fundamental rules have been sacrificed for despatch.

This article is an attempt to highlight the contribution of the military administrations to the development and scope of criminal law in Nigeria. The approach is to examine the various important criminal law enactments of the military era with a view to see their impact, if any, on the hitherto existing rules and system of criminal law.
Re-Allocation of Matrimonial Property at the Dissolution of Marriage in Zimbabwe
Authors: Ncube Welshman
Published: July 2009

Most countries of the world have at one time or another been confronted with questions of what principles or rules should guide the courts in readjusting the property rights of spouses at the dissolution of their marriage. Virtually all civilised countries have accepted marriage as an equal partnership of two legally equal individuals to which each one of them contributes in one way or another. Most policy makers agree that the partners contribute to the marriage through their division of labour and that these contributions although not equal in absolute terms are nonetheless of equal relative value to the welfare of the family.

This recognition of the equal worth and equal importance of the two spouses to a marriage relationship has had profound effects on the matrimonial property regimes of numerous countries which have had to tackle the problem of the construction of a fair and equitable legal formula for the reallocation of matrimonial property rights at the dissolution of marriage. The fundamental problem has been whether a fair and equitable system is achieved by means of fixed rules of apportionment or through flexible discretionary judicial powers exercisable at the discretion of courts, in the light of the individual circumstances of each case.
The Legal Profession in Kenya
Authors: Ojwang J. B. , Salter D. R.
Published: July 2009

The legal profession, and legal education (which is the subject of an earlier article), in operational terms form one continuum. On the earlier occasion we depicted legal education as, in essence, referring to “experiences and training which help different kinds of people to understand and use law in society”. In more specific terms, legal education is concerned with the formal or approved stages of education and training, in preparation for service in such legal roles as: representing parties in judicial or related proceedings; giving legal advice and preparing legal documents or instruments in non-contentious matters; presiding over or participating in tribunals of a legal or quasi-legal character; representing the state in matters of a legal or quasi-legal nature; etc.

The often large body of professionals, who are the product of such a system of education, invariably necessitates the establishment of governing bodies; the enactment of regulatory legislation; the adoption of controlling practices; the fostering of certain norms and mores of professional culture; etc.
Is the Grant of Governor's Consent Under the Nigerian Land Use Act Automatic?
Authors: Sholanke Oladipo O.
Published: July 2009

In the celebrated case of Savannah Bank Limited v. Ajilo the Supreme Court of Nigeria unanimously ruled that a deemed right of occupancy under section 34(2) of the Land Use Act is the same as a right of occupancy actually granted by the Governor, with all the attendant consequences. Thus, the controversy as to whether a person who is deemed to be a holder of a right of occupancy pursuant to section 34(2) of the Act requires the prior consent of the Governor before he can transfer, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of his interest in the right of occupancy, would appear to have been finally laid to rest. Such a person needs the consent of the Governor for a valid alienation of his interest.
Customary Marriage and The Urban Local Courts in Zambia
Authors: Coldham Simon
Published: July 2009

The local courts of Zambia are the successors to the native courts which the British set up in Northern Rhodesia, as elsewhere in colonial Africa, to administer justice to Africans. However, while the system of native courts originally existed in parallel with the system of English-style magistrates' courts, after independence the native courts (re-named local courts) were integrated into the judicial system, with appeals lying to subordinate courts (i.e. magistrates' courts) of the first or second class. Although it was the ultimate goal of the government to have a fully professionalised judiciary (a policy adopted by Kenya in 1967), it recognised that the local courts still had an important role to play in the administration of justice, particularly in the rural areas. Twenty years later it looks as if their future is secure. If the amount of business transacted by the local courts and the paucity of appeals from their decisions provide an indication of their popularity and effectiveness, they would seem to have proved their worth.

Like their predecessors, the local courts have a limited criminal jurisdiction, but the bulk of their business is civil. They have jurisdiction in most civil matters where the claim does not exceed 200 kwacha. Some of these cases are actions for the recovery of a debt, actions for assault or actions for defamation of character (most frequently, accusations of witchcraft), but the majority of the cases could be broadly categorised as “family” cases, including divorce, adultery, seduction and inheritance claims.
The Land Use Act and the Institution of Family Property in Nigeria
Authors: Oshio P. Ehi
Published: July 2009

The Land Use Act, 1978 is, indeed, a “giant-killer”. In the recent case of Savannah Bank of Nigeria Limited and Another v. Ammel Ajilo and Another a learned Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria seized the opportunity to indict a doyen of the Nigerian Bar for a seeming misapprehension of the revolutionary effect of the Act on the land tenurial system of the country. But we hasten to point out that the Act is not the problem child only of the Bar, for the Bench is not free from the same misapprehension for which this learned gentleman of the Bar was indicted. Indeed, there is mounting evidence from the conflicting opinions of our courts on the Act that the latter is the “Achilles' heel” also of the Bench. One glaring instance: while the Supreme Court in recognition of group holdings under customary law conceded communal title to a right of occupancy under the Act to a community in the case of Chief S.U. Ojeme and Others v. His Highness Momodu II and Others the Court of Appeal expressed the contrary view in the subsequent case of L.S.D.P.C. and Others v.
Maintenance Statutes in Six Countries in Southern Africa
Authors: Armstrong Alice
Published: July 2009

This article will analyse the legislative provisions relating to financial maintenance for women and children in six countries of southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. These are the six countries involved in the Women and Law in Southern Africa research project, a comparative research project and network of researchers in the region. For the first two-year phase of the project, 1990–1991, the project is studying maintenance laws, their application and administration, and the attitudes, customs and practices which influence maintenance law in the six countries. This article is a background paper for that project, which will by analysing legislative provisions give the researchers in the project an idea of some of the various options for law reform.