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On Transplants and Impact of English Common Law in Africa

Author: ChenZhi
Tutor: XiaXinHua
School: Xiangtan University
Course: Legal History
Keywords: English Common Law Africa Law Transplants Impact
CLC: D956.5;D901
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2010
Downloads: 86
Quote: 0
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Abstract

Africa, which is a strange and mysterious land to us, has formed a special African legal system after half a century of development. African countries have suffered colonial rule by Europe countries, and form diversified law. It is good for the Chinese legal to develop in the context of globalization.The United Kingdom, as once the largest colonial power in Africa, whose colonies are mainly in the west, east, northeast and south-central of Africa. Britain carries out an“indirect rule”in the British colonies in Africa. The indirect rule has impact on the political system, legal system, economy and culture of African countries. And the influence of British common law in Africa is significantly important.African customary law and Islamic law had migrated before the Britain. Islamic law had been absorbed by African customary law and openly applied. Then, English common law begun to transplant Africa. There were two reasons for migration. First, it was indirect rule that provided adequate conditions for the transplantation. Second, the cultural differences between the Common law and African traditional law formed condition.Law transplantation was the process of conflict and fusion. Britain had different methods for the indirect transplantation, even by the Anglo-India law. After British indirect transplantation, there were many legislative and judicial conflicts and fusions between Common law and African customary law and Islamic law. The Common law filled Africa’s property law, debt and economic law and modified the African marriage, family and inheritance law. Take the Fanti law in the West Africa and Muslim personal law in the East Africa for example. During the English colonial rule, Fanti law received the Common law, and then changed traditional system of land and personal property, perfected the traditional marriage system. The case of Tanzania Muslim personal law reflected how the common law and Islamic law were implied in court in the colonial period and how the common law changed in order to follow the local situation. In short, the transplants of English common law had important effect on Africa law system. On the one hand, it promoted the development of African law and modernization of traditional legal culture to establish new system of justice in Africa; on the other hand, it brought many problems.In all, this article aims to study the migration process and how common law affects African local law during the colonial period.

On Transplants and Impact of English Common Law in Africa

Abstract

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