Informal laws and state law in the horn of Africa

Abstract

This essay examines the relationship existing between informal law and state laws in the four countries of the Horn of Africa from an historical and comparative perspective. Such relation is considered from the time when the four countries became independent, however reference is also made from time to time to the colonial background when necessary to justify a particular situation. The analysis casts also an eye to the relation existing between religious laws and state laws, as religious laws represent an essential component in the interaction between state laws and the other normative orders present in these four countries. The essay concludes with some recommendations for the improvement of such relationship.