Abstract
Three justice systems (state, Sharia and customary) currently operate in Somaliland. As a developing country on a pathway out of fragility, one of the challenges is the high cost of state justice services, composed of police, prosecutors, courts, prisons and legal aid services. As a result, these services are often confined to urban centres. Outside of urban centres, customary justice systems predominate. However, these are also not free from challenges. Customary systems struggle to provide redress in fast-urbanising, demographically changing environments with a high volume of complex disputes, such as over land, calling for technical capacity that non-state actors lack. Similarly, while customary systems play an effective role in preventing communal conflict, when it comes to handling disputes involving women and minority groups, they frequently do so in a way that undermines their rights. The limited presence of formal justice systems in many parts of Somaliland means that it is difficult for the state to intervene to safeguard these rights.
The chapter is extracted from my PhD research and therefore reflects the context and influence of plural justice at the time of the research period, 2018–2022
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Notes
- 1.
An Arabic word for judge.
- 2.
An Arabic word meaning blood compensation.
- 3.
Forty-one years after British Somaliland became independent and merged with the Somalia Republic.
- 4.
- 5.
Groups of people known collectively as Gabooye that have traditionally been considered distinct and lower-caste groups, and are also referred to by the derogatory moniker “Midgan”.
- 6.
- 7.
Article 5: Religion (1) Islam is the religion of the Somaliland state, and the promotion of any religion in the territory of Somaliland, other than Islam, is prohibited. (2) The laws of the nation shall be grounded on and shall not be contrary to Islamic Sharia. (3) The state shall promote religious tenets (religious affairs) and shall fulfill Sharia principles and discourage immoral acts and reprehensible behavior. (4) The calendar shall be the Islamic Calendar based on the hijra, and the Gregorian calendar.
- 8.
One of the four schools of Islamic law in Sunni Islam.
- 9.
Article 5 sub (2) The laws of the nation shall be grounded on and shall not be contrary to Islamic Sharia.
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Abdulahi, H.I. (2023). Somaliland’s Plural Justice System and Its Influence on Peacebuilding and Development. In: Contemporary Issues on Governance, Conflict and Security in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29635-2_15
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