Indigenous Justice and Rural Democracy
South Africa remains splintered along many lines including culture, religion, and justice. As a result, the 1996 Constitution still symbolizes a divide between common law (originating from the Roman-Dutch and English) and African Indigenous laws by conferring the lowest status to the laws of indigenous people notwithstanding their numerical majority.
In accessing the challenges, conflicts, and adaptations of the merging of foreign and indigenous laws, it is important to identify which lens should be pritoritised in administering justice in Africa to ensure that our laws work for African communities.
Overall, this project is divided into four phases.
Phase One:
Traditional Court Personnel Training
We train members and personnel of traditional courts on the structure, powers, and duties of traditional courts within the broader constitutional and legislative framework in South Africa.
Phase Two:
A search for Indigenous judicial solutions
We are conducting individual interviews and focus group discussions with elders and healers in various Kingdoms around the different cultural groups in South Africa,
Phase Three:
National Conference on African Jurisprudence in South Africa
We host community conferences with participants from universities, government, private sector, NGOs, and the broader civil society.
Phase Four:
Development of a short course
The learnings and outcomes of the project will be used to develop a short course on rural democracy, indigenous justice and African jurisprudence.
Phase One:
Traditional Court Personnel Training
We train members and personnel of traditional courts on the structure, powers, and duties of traditional courts within the broader constitutional and legislative framework in South Africa. The workshops aim to improve the workings and efficiency of traditional courts with a keen interest in ensuring basic socio-economic rights in rural communities.
A manual outlining the procedure and rules of traditional courts within the selected jurisdictions will be developed and compiled.
Phase Two:
A search for Indigenous judicial solutions
We are conducting individual interviews and focus group discussions with elders and healers in various Kingdoms around the different cultural groups in South Africa, to identify positive indigenous and legal teachings needed as a basis for building an African legal system that works for African people. In searching for these alternative indigenous solutions, we shall seek to answer the following challenges.
- What does African democracy mean, in light of Western interference?
- Is it advantageous to have a plural legal system? Does it work for Africans?
- What does it mean for villages to have a tribal authority and local government (Bi-lateral government). Does this work for communities?
- Is democracy a concept that is appropriate for indigenous people?
- How does (rural) democracy relate to accountability?
- How does rural democracy impact on succession and gender justice?
Phase Three:
National Conference on African Jurisprudence in South Africa
We host community conferences with participants from universities, government, private sector, NGOs, and the broader civil society.
The overall goal of the conference is to answer the following questions:
- In what ways does common law bring about healing of individuals, families, and communities?
- What role can an indigenous justice framework play in healing a country ravaged by moral and spiritual breakdown?
- Does common law have the orientation, willingness, and capacity to practice justice as healing in South Africa?
- Is there a need to amend the 1996 Constitution to reflect and elevate indigenous justice and African jurisprudence?
The outcome of these conferences will be a policy paper that seeks to find ways of administering justice in a way that bridges and heals the cultural divide between European and indigenous justice.
Phase Four:
Development of a short course
The learnings and outcomes of the project will be used to develop a short course on rural democracy, indigenous justice and African jurisprudence. This short course will endeavour to:
- Improve the skills and judicial experience of rural communities.
- Train professionals and influence indigenous knowledge within the South African judicial system.
- Engage with external industry practitioners to ensure a homogenous and just society.
- Create a community of learners to pursue rural democracy, indigenous justice, and decolonising jurisprudence research interests; and
- Position African jurisprudence within international law instruments and policies.
