Mapping the Legacy of the Past: Colonial Laws and Customary Traditions in Africa

The essay offers a critical survey of how comparative legal studies examine the interrelations between colonial legacies and African legal traditions. By challenging the colonial and ethnocentric attitude of mainstream comparative legal scholars, it reappraises the traditional classification of African law. Anchoring the article there are two critical contentions: firstly, that African law is a composite of different legal traditions; secondly, that critical comparative law must redraw the boundaries between the different geographical areas within which colonial legacies and African law intertwines.