Fostering a constructive intra-African legal dialogue in post-colonial Africa

Abstract

The contention of this article is that there is a need to debunk the myth that the diversity of Africa's inherited legal systems means that the continent has little to contribute to the global legal dialogue. For Africa to make an effective contribution to global legal dialogue, there is a need for serious intra-African legal dialogue. The article focuses on sub-Saharan countries and provides an overview of the numerous legal traditions that were imposed on them at independence. It then looks at the global legal dialogue within which the global south is marginalized. Thereafter, the article discusses the ways in which an intra-African trans-systemic dialogue can be promoted. The main argument of the article is that such a dialogue is likely to provide the critical understanding necessary to pave the way for closer collaboration between African countries in their efforts to develop legal values, principles and institutions that are better suited to addressing the continent's complex and multifaceted problems.