Legal pluralism also exists to some extent in societies where the legal systems of indigenous peoples have received some recognition. In Australia, for example, the Mabo decision recognized Aboriginal title and thus elements of traditional Aboriginal law. Elements of traditional Aboriginal criminal law have also been recognized, particularly in sentencing. [ref. needed] This has in fact created two parallel systems of sanctions. Another example is that of the Philippines, whose usual way of the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera is recognized by the Philippine government, and in Kalinga, the bodong is the means used by the people to settle disputes: as it was very effective for them, it is still widely practiced. The sources of Islamic law are the Qur`an, Sunnah and Ijmah, but most modern Western nation-states derive the basis of their legal system from the Christian superpowers of ancient times (Britain, France, etc.). This is also the reason why the moral laws found in the Bible have in fact been laws in their own right, with the original basic standard going far back in legal history and thus fulfilling the priority of positivists and naturalists. Hamed Kazemzadeh, orientalist, believes that despite the flattening of many current differences under the influence of science, technology and increasing communication in legal pluralism, we cannot imagine a significant reduction in differences in our fundamental value systems, whether philosophical or cultural, in the near future. [4] “The first, classical legal pluralism, includes indigenous laws, customary rights, and even religious laws that help the state ensure law and order. The second, the new legal pluralism, has an international element, including respect for human rights, democracy and international law,” Gebeye said. Since modern Western legal systems can also be pluralistic[2], it is misleading to discuss legal pluralism only in relation to non-Western legal systems. Legal pluralism can even be found in contexts that may seem legally homogeneous at first.
For example, there is a dual legal ideology in courthouses in the United States because the formal ideology of law, as written, coexists with the informal ideology of law as it is used. [3] The discussion of the internal and external plurality of legal systems is called the sociology of law. As systems evolved, the idea was that some issues (such as commercial transactions) would be covered by colonial law and other issues (family and marriage) by traditional law. [1] Over time, these distinctions have tended to collapse, and individuals have chosen to place their legal claims within the system that they believe would provide them with the greatest benefit. In “The Janus face of legal pluralism for the rule of law promotion in sub-Saharan Africa”, Gebeye discusses how two different forms of legal pluralism or the application of several legal systems within a country go hand in hand. “Projects promoting the rule of law must be aware of both types of legal pluralism. Both have their own advantages and disadvantages in promoting the rule of law, and both forms of legal pluralism are part of a constitutional system. If we want to practice a sustainable rule of law in sub-Saharan Africa, we need to consider two forms of legal pluralism and their relationship to constitutional systems,” Gebeye concluded. Legal pluralism is the existence of several legal systems within a (human) population and/or geographical area. Plural legal systems are particularly common in former colonies, where the law of a former colonial authority may coexist with more traditional legal systems (customary law). There is concern that traditional legal systems and Muslim legal systems do not promote women`s rights.
Accordingly, members of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) called for the unification of legal systems within countries. Legal pluralism also occurs when different laws govern different groups within a country. For example, in India and Tanzania, there are special Islamic courts that deal with the concerns of Muslim communities following the principles of Islamic law. Secular courts deal with the issues of other communities. Note that you can save in the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variant. “@free.kindle.com” emails are free, but can only be stored on your device when connected to Wi-Fi. “@kindle.com” emails can be sent even when you are not connected to Wi-Fi, but note that service charges apply. To save this book to your Kindle, first make sure qu`coreplatform@cambridge.org has been added to your approved personal document mailing list under your personal document settings on the Manage Content and Devices page of your Amazon account.