The Nature of Customary (Traditional) Law and Customary Courts in ECOWAS Countries

In this chapter, the authors examine issues related to the state regulation of the activities of African customary courts of the West African states that are members of ECOWAS (Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo). It describes the characteristic features of African customary law in the pre-colonial and colonial era, as well as in the modern period. Filing a case in Nigeria’s customary courts has been used as an example of description. The authors identify and reveal the advantages and disadvantages of the administration of justice in customary courts. Customary courts have many advantages: (a) they are more accessible to an average person in African countries than formal courts; (b) they are inexpensive, compelling, and often geographically very close to court attendants; (c) hearings in customary courts are understood by litigants because they take place in the local dialect and avoid the use of complex legal terms; (d) they encourage mediation and reconciliation and make decisions that are restorative in nature. However, there are many disadvantages.