Formal and informal dispute resolution in the Limpopo Province, South Africa

“My Husband Has to Stop Beating Me and I Shouldn’t Go to the Police”: Family Meetings, Patriarchal Bargains, and Marital Violence in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

“…Bassadien and Hochfeld (2005) argue that in many communities in South Africa, domestic violence disputes have to be dealt with by the elders of the community or traditional authorities, an indigenous legal system where punishment is meted out for what is considered “unacceptable behavior” in that community. The customary dispute resolution forum can also include a family meeting, and it has been found to be the first avenue people utilize when seeking assistance with marital disputes (Button, Moore, & Himonga, 2016; Green, 1999; Griffiths, 1997; Higgins, Fenrich, & Tanzer, 2006; Himonga & Moore, 2015; van der Waal, 2004). Most evidence points to the ways in which elders minimize abuse or collude with the abuser, but the conditions and terms of such collusion or rejection are less well understood.…”

“…A family meeting can be understood as “a traditional (extra-judicial) system of arbitration which often takes place when violations of accepted norms have occurred which may invite some sort of sanction” (Green, 1999, p. 165). The custom of calling a family meeting describes the repetitive behaviors of a group of people in South Africa (Higgins, Fenrich, & Tanzer, 2006; van der Waal, 2004; Author) and Botswana (Griffiths, 1997) when marital discord arises. This custom is a source of a customary rule as there is normative agreement (Himonga & Moore, 2015) that this dispute resolution forum is the correct place to seek assistance with a marital discord problem.…”

Courting Custom: Regulating Access to Justice in Rural South Africa and Malawi

“…Furthermore, while the TCB-2008/2012 sought to replace the Black Administration Act, the bill also perpetuated the act's mischaracterization of traditional courts as composed of a traditional leader who approximates a civil court judge without a role for ordinary members of the community in traditional courts' decision making. By adopting the same stance, the TCB-2008/2012 would be compromising the deeply consultative and participatory values embedded in traditional governance that proved mostly resilient (Claassens and Mnisi 2009;Van der Waal 2004). These include practices, described as existing in various South African communities, such as that the senior traditional leader would not speak until the end of a meeting or case to summarize the views of the "community-in-council" (Dutton 1923: 59-60;Hammond-Tooke 1975;Reader 1966: 259-60).…”

Justice & Memory: South Africa's Constitutional Court

“…When the matter draws to a close, someone sums up the matter and then the headman gives his decision. 18 This simple account of a traditional court procedure makes it clear that a principle of open, participative justice is deeply etched in our memory and practice. Indeed, it is a living aspect of justice in modern South Africa.…”