LEGAL SYSTEMS OF ASIA AND AFRICA

2013/2014
Course Code: 155200029
www.soas.ac.uk/courseunits/155200029.html
LLB and BA Law Programmes

Location: V111
Lecture: Thursday 15.00- 17.00

Module Convener: Dr Anice Van Engeland





Overview

This module is an introduction to the comparative study of law, based on a detailed
examination of the norms, institutions and processes in major traditional and modern laws and
legal system of Asia and Africa. The course covers Hindu, Chinese, African, Islamic laws and
many more. It focuses on a range of issues:

Sources of law;
Unification of law;
Law in Context;
Law and dispute processes;
Western influences on traditional legal systems.

The module is explicitly jurisprudential and deeply comparative. Students can expect to learn
in considerable length about major legal theories and their dynamic interaction in different
parts of the world. The course is set against the wider context of globalisation backdrop and
the difficulties in upholding the rule of law.

The course will be taught over 20 weeks in the first term and second term, together with one
review lecture held in the third term. Lectures will be delivered by various speakers and take
place on Thursday, from 15:00 to 17:00 in V111, SOAS Vernon Square Campus. In addition,
tutorials will take place every week, commencing October 7, 2012. Arrangements for tutorial
timetable & allocation will be separately notified.






Staff Details

Dr Anicee Van Engeland, Course Convenor
Office hours:
Monday 15:15-16:15
Wednesday 11:00-12:00

Contact info
SOAS
Office 255
0207 898 4646
av@soas.ac.uk
http://www.soas.ac.uk/staff/staff78622.php

Jean-Philippe Dequen, Tutor
<jd108@soas.ac.uk>

Adeeba Khan, Tutor
<ak106@soas.ac.uk>

Sajjad Khoshroo, Tutor
<sk131@soas.ac.uk>

Farrah Razza, Tutor
<fr6@soas.ac.uk>



Objectives and Learning Outcomes of the Course

On successful completion of the course, students will have acquired a sound understanding of
different types of legal theory and their practical application in variety of cultural and legal
context. Further:

Students will be able to handle a variety of source materials about different legal
cultures and contexts, and will have developed at least a basic understanding of how
those legal systems work;

Students will be able to pinpoint the connections and tensions between different types
of law-making entities and will be able to handle problem-based analytical tasks;

Students will have developed critically important transferable skills in the analysis of
primary and secondary legal sources, will have honed their expressional skills both
orally and in writing, and will begin to develop their individual research skills in a
variety of legal systems studied at SOAS;



Students will have learnt about the importance of precision in expression and
documentation, and thus will have begin to develop critical skills for young lawyers
and social scientists.

Assessment

1 exam (3 hours) 70%
1 essay (3,000 words) 30%

The course is evaluated by way of one three-hour formal examination, which counts for 70
per cent of the marks for the course; your exam for this course will take place on a single day
during the SOAS examination period (Thursday 06 May Thursday 3 June 2014).
In addition, the students coursework in the second term shall carry a weighting of 30 percent
of the total marks awarded. The coursework questions will be given by the Course Convener
three weeks prior to the deadline. All coursework must be submitted online; the deadline for
your coursework is 17 FEBRUARY 2014 (TERM TWO).

Coursework must include references (OSCOLA) and a bibliography. You must keep the
essay to a maximum of 3,000 words. Late submission will result in deduction of marks.
Extensions cannot be granted by the Course Convenors or Tutors - follow the standard
procedure for mitigating circumstance and use the forms available from the Student Support
Office of the Faculty of Law and Social Sciences.
Please keep in mind the SOAS policy for plagiarism:
http://www.soas.ac.uk/lawsocialsciences/plagiarism-statement/

There will be a practice mock essay and a practice mock exam for students to practice.

Tutorials

Tutorials start in the second week of the first term (October 7, 2012). Arrangements for
tutorial allocation will be separately notified and should also be available via the School
Timetable website.

Tutorials provide an opportunity for analysis and discussion with staff and other students, and
your weekly class meetings are thus one of the main vehicles for enabling students to realise
the learning outcomes of the course. Most of the reading materials for tutorials will be
available electronically and you will receive detailed study-instructions related specifically to
each weekly topic. In preparation for tutorial discussion, students should work through the
questions provided under the subject matter for the week in question. Please do not forget
that attendance at tutorials is recorded and students who do not attend regularly are


required to explain absences in writing. Students who fail to attend tutorials regularly
may not be allowed to sit the exam.

Key Textbook: Recommended for Purchase

The following books are recommended for purchase for this course. You do not need to
purchase both. Both are in the SOAS library.

Comparative Law in a Global Context: The Legal Systems of Asia and Africa
By Werner Menski. 2nd Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2006.

The SOAS library also has an electronic copy which you can access online.

Legal Traditions of the World
By H Patrick Glenn. Fourth edition, Oxford University Press, 2010.


Moodle

All documents, readings, tutorials and powerpoint slides will be uploaded on Moodle.


Classroom Etiquette

The use of personal lap top computers/tablets during this class is allowed only if strictly
necessary to taking notes. No internet navigation is allowed during class.
Please turn off any beepers, cell phones and Ipods prior to the beginning of class. All
electronic devices should be stowed out of sight. Please take care of all personal needs before
the start of classleaving to do so during class is disruptive to the entire class.
Students are expected to be on time.






LSAA SYLLABUS

TERM 1

The purpose of term 1 is to introduce different theories (others will be covered in term 2) and
to the sources of the law. We will outline the different sources of the law and analyse them,
alone and in their interactions with each other: State law, customs, customary law, religion,
culture, traditions, ethics and more. The aim is to understand how those sources of the law
influence State law or how State law influences them, looking at positive examples and
negative examples (clashes between State law and customary law for example).

Week 1 (Th 03 October 2013)
Introduction
Dr Anice Van Engeland

Summary
The topic, the course requirements, the tutorials and other administrative matters will be
covered.
During the second hour of this introductory course, you will be introduced to primary
concepts of political and legal philosophy (concept of State, rule of law, democracy). You
will also be introduced to the concept legal systems, looking at civil law, common law,
religious law and customary law. The next step will be to introduce you to the different
sources of the law, which will be central to our approach to LSAA.

Aim
The purpose of this lecture is to clarify concepts such as State, law, parliament, rule and law
and others.

Examples
For this class, I will draw from different examples and different countries in Asia and Africa.






Week 2 (Th 10 October 2013)
Introduction to Theory I: State Law and Natural Law
Dr Anice Van Engeland

Summary
This lecture will be focussed on understanding the evolution of natural law and the concepts
of State law and legal positivism. This will set State law as the main reference for the module.
You can then later decide to support State law or criticize it. Yet, it is important that we have
a yardstick they refer to when comparing legal systems and measuring sources of law.

Aim
The purpose of this lecture is to clarify the concept of State law which you will rely on for the
rest of your LL.B at SOAS. It is necessary to understand the role of State law and the role of
natural law it in order to later form your own opinion with regard to other sources of law.
The following weeks (from week 5 to week of term 1 to week 8 of term 2 included) will be
devoted to looking at how the different sources of law interact with State law: do they
influence State law? Contradict State law? How does State law view those sources? Does it
integrate them or reject them? How does it integrate them? I will raise all these questions
during this session so that you can come back to them during the course.

Examples
For this class, I will draw from different examples and different countries in Asia and Africa.

Week 3 (Th 17 October 2013)
Introduction to Theory II: Comparative Law
Mr Nick Foster

Summary
Nick Foster will introduce Comparative Law. In order to be able to understand different types
of law worldwide, their varying characteristics and their different roles in society, you will
need to acquire a sound grasp of the general principles underlying the study of
the differences between legal systems, the similarities they share and the interaction between
them. The study of these principles is called Comparative Law. Mr Foster will look at three
questions: What is Comparative Law? Comparative law is about similarity, difference and


interaction between legal systems. Why do we study it? We need to study it because, in
today's globalised world, it has become of great practical importance. How do you do it? In
this lecture we will also touch, very briefly, on some of the methods used.

Aim
The purpose of the lecture is to introduce you to the theory of comparative law, its importance
and its uses.

Examples
His main example will be Islamic law, but he will also use other legal systems and, in
particular, their history, to illustrate the topic.

Week 4 (Th 24 October 2013)
Introduction to Theory III: Legal Pluralism
Professor Peter Leyland

Summary
This week, Professor Leyland will introduce you to another theory used in LSAA: legal
pluralism. The aim of the lecture is to explain to students that there are different sources of
law and that those sources will influence State law. He will also look at the multiplicity of
legal systems which exist within one territory (geographic zone or country).

Aim
His task will therefore to introduce the complexities of this multi-layered approach and to
study what occurs when different legal systems have to cohabit, forcing them to interact.

Examples
To do, he will rely on his expertise in South East Asia with a focus on Thailand, Indonesia
and Vietnam.







Week 5 (Th 31 October 2013)
Sources of the Law I: Religion as a Source of Law
Dr Anice Van Engeland

Summary
You will be introduced to a first source of the law, religion. We will analyse how religion and
law intercat, and we will look into religious laws intercation with State law. We will also
examine how religious law exists independently from the State.

Aim
The aim is to present a first source of the law: religion. We will go through different sources
as the term progresses, relying on theories.

Examples
I will use examples drawn from Islamic law (Iran, Afghanistan, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and others) + Jewish law + Canon law

Week 6 (Th 07 November 2013)
Reading week

Week 7 (Th 14 November 2013)
Sources of the Law II: Religion and the Law
Professor Martin Lau

Summary
Professor Lau will illustrate the interactions between law and religion, looking at Pakistan. He
will in particular focus on the interactions between State law, religious law and customary
law.

Aim
The purpose of this lecture is to clarify how State law influences religion and vice-versa.

Examples
Pakistan (in particular criminal law: zina and zina bil jabr)



Week 8 (Th 21 November 2013):
Sources of the Law III: Customary law I
Professor Werner Menski

Summary
Professor Menski will introduce you to the role of customary law in the legal system. He will
seize the opportunity to explain his approach to legal pluralism, looking at the kite.

Aim
The purpose of this lecture is to clarify the interactions between State law and customary law.

Examples
For this class, he will draw from different examples and different countries in Asia and
Africa.

Week 9 (Th 28 November 2013)
Sources of the Law IV: Customary Law II
Professor Werner Menski

Summary
Professor Menski will introduce you to the role of customary law in the legal system. He will
seize the opportunity to explain his approach to legal pluralism, looking at the kite.
He will also introduce his new theory, MM. v. POP.

Aim
The purpose of this lecture is to clarify the interactions between State law and customary law.

Examples
For this class, he will draw from different examples and different countries in Asia and
Africa.





Week 10 (Th 05 December 2013)
Illustration I-Gender
Dr Vanja Hamzic

Summary
Dr Hamzic will illustrate the different sources of the law we have been looking at, with a
focus on the impact of religious law over State law.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to provide an example of the tensions that can arise when trying to
accommodate different sources of the law.

Examples
For this class, Dr Hamzic will mainly draw from the example of Nigeria and gender

Week 11 (Th 12 December 2013)
Illustration II-India
Mr Alex Fischer

Summary
Mr Fischer will illustrate the different sources of the law we have been looking at, with a
focus on the impact of religious law and customary law over State law.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to provide a positive illustration when trying to accommodate
different sources of the law.

Examples
For this class, Mr Fischer will mainly draw from the example of India.

WINTER BREAK

TERM 2
Week 1 (Th 9 January 2014)


Tradition and the law I
Mr Ernest Caldwell

Summary
Dr Caldwell will introduce a new source of law to the students: traditions. He will explain
how that source of law draws from customary law and religion.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to provide a theoretical background to the understanding of
traditions, looking at Chinese law

Examples
For this class, Mr Caldwell will mainly draw from the example of China (criminal law and
family law).

Week 2 (Th 16 January 2014)
Tradition and the law II
Dr Sanzhu Zhu

Summary
Dr Zhu will finish our section on the different sources of the law by giving an illustration of
traditions.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to provide an example of how Chinese law is made up of
traditions, customary law and religious law.

Examples
For this class, Dr Zhu will mainly draw from the example of commercial law.

Week 3 (Th 23 January 2014)
Society and the Law I
Dr Carol Tan



Summary
Dr Tan will open a new section in this course, looking at societal elements that can influence
the law. She has chosen to do focusing on access to justice for migrant workers in Hong
Kong, providing an example of access to formal and informal justices.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to give an example of how society influences the law and how the
law impacts society

Examples
For this class, Dr Tan will mainly rely on Hong Kong and will provide examples of the
different forms of access to justice.

Week 4 (Thursday 30 January 2014)
Society and the Law II
Professor Fareda Banda

Summary
Professor Banda will continue looking at societal issues and access to justice. She will look
into informal justice mechanisms and gender

Aim
The purpose of this class is to give the theoretical background needed to understand the
concept of access to justice.

Examples
Professor Banda will rely on her extensive knowledge of Africa.

Week 5 (Th 06 February 2014)
Courts, Legislation, Codes
Dr Makeen Makeen

Summary


Dr Makeen will then open yet a new chapter in LSAA, looking at how the sources of law
previously analysed are dealt with in court and how societal issues are taken into account by
courts.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to an introduction to the role of courts when it comes to
accommodating different legal sources.

Examples
Middle East and North Africa

Week 6 (Th 13 February 2014)
Reading week

Week 7 (Th 20 February 2014)
The role of Supreme Courts I: the case of Israel
Dr Nimer Sultany

Summary
Dr Sultany will carry on analyzing courts attempts to reconcile State law with other sources,
taking into account a vulnerable group: minorities. Dr Sultany will also introduce you to
Israeli law to understand the challenges the Court faces.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to illustrate the difficult task courts face when accommodating
different sources of law. The other aim is to look into a vulnerable category of people, having
previously looked at migrant workers and women.

Examples
Israel and POT

Week 8 (Th 27 February 2014)
The role of Supreme Courts II: South Africa
Dr Cathy Jenkins



Summary
Dr Jenkins will conclude our analysis of the work of the Court, looking at the Supreme Court
in South Africa. Dr Jenkins will also introduce you to South African law to understand the
challenges the Court faces.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to give another example of how a Court approaches different
sources of the law.

Examples
South Africa

Week 9 (Th 06 March 2014)
Multiculturalism I
Dr Brenna Bandhar

Summary
Dr Bandhar will then have the task of shifting focus: instead of looking at Southern States
dealing with multiple sources of law, we will now investigate how Northern States deal with
them. The first case will be Canada and we will analyse the theory of reasonable
accommodation as an alternative to legal pluralism.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to shift focus from Africa and Asia being the majority law to
Africa and Asia being the minority law.

Examples
Canada

Week 10 (Th 13 March 2014)
Multiculturalism II
Dr Samia Bano



Summary
Dr Bano will provide another illustration of the difficulty of accommodating different sources
of law in the Northern sphere (or the West), looking into another approach to conciliation via
Sharia arbitration tribunals in the UK.

Aim
The purpose of this class is to shift focus from Africa and Asia being the majority law to
Africa and Asia being the minority law.

Examples
Sharia Arbitration Tribunals in the UK

Week 11 (Th 20 March 2014)
International Law
Professor Mashood Baderin

Summary
The concluding lecture will look into yet another challenge: the pressure of reconciling State
domestic law with international law

Aim
The purpose of this class is to demonstrate that while the State focuses on rejecting or
accommodating different local sources of law, it also has to deal with a supreme source of
law: international law.

Examples
Sudan