عنوان

The Development of the administration of civil justice in Kenya and Tanzania :

Number

TLets527027

Title Proper

The Development of the administration of civil justice in Kenya and Tanzania :

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Lamwai, Masumbuko Roman Mahunga

Title Proper by Another Author

a Critical Analysis

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London)

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

1983

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London)

Text preceding or following the note

1983

Text of Note

Before colonial rule, dispute settlement procedures inthe tribal societies of Kenya and Tanzania varied from communalprocedures centred on self-help in the clan societies to arudimentary adversarial system in the chiefly societies. Onthe arrival of the British and the Germans in the two countriesrespectively however, procedures started to change towards auniform adversarial system. This process continued afterindependence. The thesis endeavours to find out whether therehave been any consistent principles followed in the developmentof the law relating to civil litigation'in'Kenya and Tanzania.The major questions which the thesis addresses itselfto are: (i) What were the procedures in the customary disputesettlement institutions? (ii) Were these changed after theestablishment of colonial rule, and, if so, how? (iii) Whatwere the principles behind these changes? (iv) What steps havethe two Governments taken since independence respecting thelaw of civil procedure? (v) How far has the law reflectedsocial circumstances of the two countries?Since the law of civil procedure in Kenya and Tanzaniahas been adopted from India, it has also been necessary tostudy the development of the Indian Code. The aim of this study was to discover the policies leading to the Code's adoptionin Kenya and Tanzania.Although the two countries have since independenceadopted different political and economic policies, theadversarial procedures which were developed during the periodof colonial rule have been retained by both.However, the Indian-based law introduced technicalprocedures; incomprehensible to many litigants. Furthermore,legal assistance in the two countries is hard to get becauseof the smallness of the Bar and the poverty of the litigants.Thus, although the research has led to the conclusion that theadversarial procedures are there to stay, they must be modifiedso as to ensure that justice is actually done. Some Judgeshave been advocating that the court should play a more activerole in assisting the parties, but this is difficult to achievesince the number of Judges and Magistrates is insufficient,and the legal knowledge of the supporting staff is inadequate.Many informal tribunals have developed as a result, but theselack the necessary powers of enforcement.The research is based on archival material, currentpublic documents, Statutes and oral interviews.

Lamwai, Masumbuko Roman Mahunga

School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London)

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

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