Customary law in Zambia's new constitutional dispensation

This chapter comments on the uncertain position of customary law in the new constitutional dispensation and compares the Zambian position with developments elsewhere in Africa. The commentary considers the significant role of customary law in the Zambian legal system and internationally. It is argued that the uncertainty attending the recognition of customary law in the constitution reveals a flippancy by the legislature about a system of law that both governs the lives of millions of Zambians and affects the rights of these people in pertinent areas of their lives, including natural resources (particularly land rights), marriage, and access to justice. The story of the worth of customary law as a legitimate component of the legal system, acknowledged more fully by other countries in the region, remains to be told in the case of Zambia. The telling of this story will require a revamping of the constitutional recognition of customary law in order to reclaim the lost opportunity for an informed and engaged placement of customary law in the legal system.