During the past twenty years of civil war, and in the absense of a government and an official legal system, customary law has been the principle source of social order and stability in Southern Sudan. This study, compiled by World Vision International and the South Sudan Secretariat of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, gives a comprehensive overview of the history and practice of customary law in the various regions of Southern Sudan. It examines where customary law coincides and conflicts with statutory, Sharia and international law, and how it fits within a human rights frameworks. Finally it considers how the new legal systems being developed in Southern Sudan can take account of customary law into the future. |