Paper short abstract:

This presentation aims at explaining the resistance of African justice systems to decolonization. It highlights the perpetuation of the myth that the classical civil law model is superior to “other” forms of justice, even if the latter are more respectful of local legal cultures.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation aims to explain the perpetuation of western justice systems inherited from colonization on the African continent even when they are in dissonance with the population's expectations and representations of justice. Colonialism has led to structural transformations of the justice mechanisms in African societies with the imposition of western judicial systems and the institutionalization of "customary" mechanisms. Nonetheless, African States' access to independence has not led to the overhaul of justice systems. The new States have only carried out very meager reforms and no decolonization processes have really taken place.

Today, despite the discourses of international development and political actors promoting hybrid models of justice (western and local), we observe strong resistance to decolonization. This absence of decolonization has led to a discrepancy between the western-inspired justice systems and the legal culture of local actors such as customary leaders. Recent data collected in Burkina Faso highlight that local legal cultures encourage non-confrontational settlement instead of adversarial procedures and confidentiality rather than publicity.

The presentation aims at explaining this resistance to decolonization. Scholars have already shown that international development policies have been fostering western-inspired justice institutions as tools for creating a stable and efficient environment for markets. In addition to that, we highlight the perpetuation by international development and political actors of the myth that the classical civil law model is superior to “other” forms of justice (i.e., local non-confrontational dispute settlement), even if the latter are more respectful of local legal cultures.