African Jurisprudence as Historical Co-extension of Diffused Legal Theories
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21488960 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leye Komolafe (0000-0002-2592-4643, University of Ibadan, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 51-68 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-30 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Thought and Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0251-043X • E-ISSN: 2076-7714 |
| Publisher | African Journals Online (AJOL) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.4314/tp.v8i1.4 |
| OpenAlex | W4292950701 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
African jurisprudence, like African philosophy, continues to be hotly debated. This article contends that the debate straddles the uniqueness claim which either emphasises the existence or possibility of a peculiar legal framework on the continent, and a historical co-extensional position reiterating that African jurisprudence is a continuum of other legal traditions. The article argues that there is no uniquely African jurisprudence, and that what obtains within the structures of jurisprudence on the continent also exists within various legal traditions elsewhere, and as such can at best be described as ‘jurisprudence in Africa’ rather than ‘African jurisprudence’. It defends this thesis through analytic and comparative explications of the content of natural law theory and legal positivism as experienced on the continent. It concedes that relics of the colonial legal experience create contestations that inform scholars’ calls for a return to traditional legal systems. It concludes that a reconstructive jurisprudence in Africa must take cognisance of the continent’s historical and evolutionary legal experiences, but that a unified or monolithic theory may not be sufficient to address the choice of functional jurisprudence. Keywords African jurisprudence, jurisprudence in Africa, African legal evolution, diffused legal theories
Black letter law · Comparative law · Jurisprudence · Legal formalism · Legal history · Legal positivism · Philosophy of law · Political science · Private law · Sociology · Comparative and International Law Studies · Indigenous Peoples' Rights and Law · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa
| Highly cited | No |
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