CODESRIA Books

Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique

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Authors

Boaventura de Sousa Santos; João Carlos Trindade; Maria Paula Meneses ; André Cristiano José; António Alberto da Silva Francisco; Conceição Gomes; Guilherme Mbilana; João Pedroso; José Guilherme Negrão; Maria Manuel Leitão Marques; Joaquim Fumo; Teresa Cruz e Silva; Terezinha da Silva
DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.216

Synopsis

Edited by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Maria Paula Meneses Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006, 268 p., ISBN 9782869781917. This book presents the main results of a research project on the systems of justice in Mozambique, undertaken under the auspices of the country’s Supreme Court, in academic partnership with the Center for African Studies at Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique and the Centre for Social Studies at the School of Economics, Coimbra University, Portugal. It is dedicated to the memory of the internationally renowned Mozambican economist and Professor of Development Studies, José Guilherme Negrão. Although he died prematurely, Negrão collaborated in this project, and authored the final chapter dealing with the vexed question of land. Until the onset of Portuguese colonisation towards the end of the nineteenth century, the peoples of Mozambique did not live under a single political entity. Rather, they existed as independent entities with various forms of political and social organisation. The twentieth century saw a consolidation of colonial rule, and important changes in the organisation of power. After independence, new Eurocentric political-legal cultures were added to the existing mix of legal orders. The distinctions between the colonial law and indigenous customary law became increasingly blurred, such that Mozambique now constitutes a heterogeneous state composed of a mosaic of legal hybrids, incorporating local/indigenous customary practices and religious law, as well as state civil law. Departing from a broad understanding of law in Mozambique, this work analyses the complex network of judicial systems by interrogating the roles of the entities intervening in the system in colonial and postcolonial contexts. The main objective is to promote an empirically sound and dynamic understanding of the relationships between the multiple judicial entities present in the country within the context of cultural transformation in Africa. Overall, the book is intended as a contribution to current debates on the formation of the state in Mozambique from the nineteenth century. The authors further considers the alternative mechanisms of conflict resolution taking place in the complexity of different legal rationalities: the remains of the Portuguese legal codes, socialist policies, customary law, religious systems and Western constitutionalism.

 

Chapters

  • The Heterogeneous State and Legal Plurality
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos
  • Rupture and Continuity in Political and Legal Processes
    João Carlos Trindade
  • Toward Interlegality? Traditional Healers and the Law.
    Maria Paula Meneses
    Part I : State, Law and the Administration of Justice
  • Economic Development: From the 1960s to 2000
    António Alberto da Silva Francisco
  • Methodological Issues
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos, João Carlos Trindade, Maria Paula Meneses , André Cristiano José, Conceição Gomes, Guilherme Mbilana, João Pedroso, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, Joaquim Fumo
  • The Judicial System: Structure, Legal Education and Legal Training
    João Carlos Trindade, João Pedroso
  • The Courts in Action: Functions, Resources, Case Flow and Characterization of Litigation
    The Functions of the Court in Contemporary Societies
    João Carlos Trindade, André Cristiano José, João Pedroso, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques
    Part III : The Administration of Justice: Characteristics and Performance
  • The Judicial Courts’ Performance: Main Blockages in the Court System
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos, João Carlos Trindade, André Cristiano José, João Pedroso, Teresa Cruz e Silva
    Part II : Intermezzo
  • Access to Law and Justice: Advocacy and Legal Assistance Between the State, the Market and the Community
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos, André Cristiano José, João Pedroso, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, Terezinha da Silva
  • Community Courts
    Boaventura de Sousa Santos, João Carlos Trindade, Conceição Gomes, Guilherme Mbilana, Joaquim Fumo
  • Traditional Authorities
    Maria Paula Meneses , Conceição Gomes, Guilherme Mbilana, Joaquim Fumo
  • Solidarity Networks as Entities for Resolving Conflicts
    Teresa Cruz e Silva
  • Customary Land Systems and the New Land Law (1997): An Epistemological Note
    José Guilherme Negrão

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Author Biographies

Boaventura de Sousa Santos

is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Social Studies at the School of Economics, Coimbra University, Portugal. He is also a Distinguished Scholar the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.

João Carlos Trindade

is a Supreme Court Justice in Mozambique. He is also the Director of the Centre for Legal and Judicial Training, Maputo, Mozambique.

Maria Paula Meneses

is a Principal researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, being part of the research line on 'Europe and the Global South: legacies and dialogues'; at CES she also integrates the working group on Epistemologies of the South

André Cristiano José

is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Legal and Judicial Training, Maputo, Mozambique.

António Alberto da Silva Francisco

 is Professor of Economics at the Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.

Conceição Gomes

 is a researcher and the Executive Director of the Permanent Observatory of Justice at the Center for Social Studies, Faculty of Economics, Coimbra University, Portugal.

Guilherme Mbilana

 is a researcher at the Center for Studies on Democracy and Development, Maputo, Mozambique.

João Pedroso

is a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics, Coimbra University and a researcher at the Center for Social Studies of the same university.

José Guilherme Negrão

was Professor of Development Studies and associate Dean at the Faculty of Agronomics and Forestry Engineer at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.

Maria Manuel Leitão Marques

is Professor at the School of Economics, and a senior researcher at the Center for Social Studies, Coimbra University, Portugal.

Joaquim Fumo

is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Legal and Judicial Training, Maputo, Mozambique.

Teresa Cruz e Silva

is a researcher and Professor at the Center for African Studies, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.

Terezinha da Silva

is a lecturer and researcher at the Centre for Legal and Judicial Training, Maputo, Mozambique.

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Published

August 20, 2006

Language

English

Series

CODESRIA Books
Copyright (c) 2006 CODESRIA Books Publication System

Cite this book

APA Santos, B. S., Trindade, J. C., Meneses, M. P., José, A. C., António Alberto da Silva Francisco, Gomes, C., Mbilana, G., Pedroso, J., Negrão, J. G., Marques, M. M. L., Fumo, J., Silva, T. C., & Silva, T. (2006). Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique. CODESRIA. https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.216

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Chicago Santos, Boaventura de Sousa, João Carlos Trindade, Maria Paula Meneses, André Cristiano José, António Alberto da Silva Francisco, Conceição Gomes, Guilherme Mbilana, et al. Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique. Dakar: CODESRIA, 2006. https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.216.

MLA Santos, Boaventura de Sousa, et al. Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique. CODESRIA, 2006. https://doi.org/10.57054/codesria.pub.216.

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