Working with Customary Justice Systems: Post-Conflict and Fragile States
Publisher: International Development Law Organization
Author(s): Erica Harper, ed.
Date: 2024
Topics: Governance, Land
Countries: Liberia, Namibia, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda
Poor access to justice is a defining characteristic of many fragile and developing countries, especially those that are also recovering from conflict. For vulnerable groups — women, children, minorities, older persons, persons with disabilities, persons infected with HIV/AIDs and displaced populations — obtaining remedies and protection of their rights can be an impossible undertaking. Obstacles include prohibitive costs, language barriers, physical isolation, cultural impediments, or simply, the absence of formal justice bodies and representation services. Where individuals succeed in accessing a court- room, they frequently find that lawyers, courts and police services lack the capacity and incentives to resolve their case fairly and equitably. Corruption and impunity may also have eroded the population’s confidence in the state’s willingness to ensure the speedy and fair administration of justice and to provide basic legal guarantees in line with human rights norms and standards.
In such environments, communities and individuals often rely on customary justice systems as their principal route to a remedy. These systems, which constantly evolve as values change over time, are part of the social, cultural and political fabric of community life. As a result, they can provide timely and effective resolutions to disputes, facilitate expeditious reconciliation between parties, and also provide a framework for community-level law and order. However, some customary justice mechanisms can also be discriminatory and exclusionary, and can contribute to human rights violations. It is therefore vital that the capacity of customary institutions — just like their formal counterparts — are strengthened in order to extend protection and deliver justice.