Native Tribunals In The Gold Coast 1844—1927

Abstract

Throughout British Africa today the future of the native courts (otherwise called African, customary, or local courts) is in the melting-pot, and is the subject of much discussion and deep concern. Considerable legislative and administrative changes affecting these courts are already being made, especially in West Africa. What are to be the relations between the superior courts of a territory, predominantly administering English law, and the native courts whose primary law remains African customary law? How are the law, practice and procedure followed by native courts to be moulded and modified to adapt them to the conditions of today and tomorrow? In the study of these important questions a backward glance at history does not come amiss, and may indeed help to illumine the problems of the present.