NCJ Number
61181
Editor(s)
K F KOCH
Date Published
1979
Length
230 pages
Annotation
AN ESSAY AND EIGHT CASE STUDIES ON ACCESS TO JUSTICE ARE PRESENTED FROM ANN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE BASED ON FIELD RESEARCH IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD IN THIS LAST OF FOUR VOLUMES ON ACCESS TO JUSTICE.
Abstract
COMMON TO ALL LEGAL SYSTEMS IS THE PROVISION OF PROCEDURES THAT ENABLE PARTIES WHO HAVE BEEN WRONGED, OR ALLEGE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN WRONGED, TO OBTAIN REDRESS IN A CULTURALLY-APPROVED MANNER. HOWEVER, ASSURANCES OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE DIFFER BETWEEN TRIBAL/PEASANT SOCIETIES AND MODERN INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETIES. IN THE FORMER, ACCESS TO JUSTICE IS RARELY AN ISSUE; IN THE LATTER, IT HAS BECOME A CRUCIAL PROBLEM IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. THE EIGHT CASE STUDIES, ADDRESSING THE FOLLOWING TOPICS, CONTAIN A NUMBER OF INSIGHTS INTO THIS PROBLEM: (1) HIERACHY, CONFLICT, AND APOLOGY IN FIJI; (2) INFORMAL PROCEDURE ON AN ISLAND IN LAU, FIJI; (3) LITIGATION, INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT, AND SUCCESSION DISPUTES IN THE FRIENDLY ISLANDS; (4) AVOIDANCE AS A CONFLICT-RESOLVING STRATEGY IN ZINCANTAN, MEXICO; (5) CONFLICT, LAWS, AND LAWYERS IN CHIAPAS, MEXICO; (6) TRADITION AND LEGAL REFORM IN AN IRANIAN VILLAGE; (7) A HISTORICAL EPISODE INVOLVING TRANSFER OF TITLE IN FIJI; AND (8) OPERATION OF THE MORMON ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS IN UTAH. THE FIELD STUDIES WERE ALL CONDUCTED BY MEMBERS OF THE ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY. TABLES, FOOTNOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. FOR SPECIFIC STUDIES IN THIS VOLUME SEE NCJ 61182-61184, AND FOR STUDIES IN RELATED VOLUMES, SEE NCJ 61157-61180. (CFW)