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Tinkering with the Criminal Justice System in Common Law Africa

NCJ Number
125167
Journal
Temple Law Review Volume: 62 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1989) Pages: 1131-1174
Author(s)
S O Gyandoh Jr
Date Published
1989
Length
44 pages
Annotation
The legal profession in common law Africa must become involved in the creative modernization of the legal process in order to forestall the often destructive influence of revolutionary change.
Abstract
A major aspect of any effort at reform must be a commitment to demystify the law and to narrow the gap between formal law and the sense of justice and fairness entertained by the mass of a nation's people. Additionally, an increasing recourse must be made to the customary judicial process, which in many parts of Africa, has developed proven strategies for the attainment of substantial justice, and with which, the majority of the peoples can easily identify. Above all, the cardinal common law principle of the supremacy of the law must be zealously guarded by the legal profession in the hope that the idea will eventually permeate and saturate the social and political fabric. 241 notes.

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