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Naturally, such a pluralist system leads to debate and
contention.
“The challenges customary law faces and creates in
relation to human rights and its application by the courts
in changing social and legal contexts require serious
investigation and scholarship,” says Professor Himonga.
The first full year in which the Chair was up and running
allowed Professor Himonga to start exploring the actual
workings of customary law against that backdrop of legal
pluralism. Among other things, it will allow her to examine
how customary law intersects with other components of
the system, including common law and human rights.
“The research of the SARChI Chair is intended to increase
the understanding of customary law as a dynamic system,
as well as its actual workings within modern constitutional
frameworks,” she adds.
It was an issue she would write a chapter on in the book,
The Future of African Customary Law
, published by
Cambridge University Press last year.
In particular, and in keeping with her ongoing concern,
Professor Himonga will focus on women’s and children’s
rights. Of concern to her is interpretation of what she
calls “living customary law”. She has argued that it
should move away from a Eurocentric approach that
is tilted in favour of men. Such an interpretation, says
Professor Himonga, may alienate those subject to
it, especially women and children, who are meant to
benefit from the new legislation.
The SARChI Chair appointment also has institutional
implications. Professor Himonga, who hails from Zambia,
will be involved in capacity-building in other African
countries, notably through the Southern and Eastern African
Regional Centre for Women’s Law, where she contributes
to the teaching of a regional master’s programme.
Writings with worldwide influence
Professor Himonga’s contribution is not the only one
making UCT’s presence felt on the international stage.
Professor Anton Fagan, head of the Department of Private
Law, began a sabbatical in 2011, which took him to
England, Scotland, and Germany, in the interests of
enriching international perspectives.
The Law, Race and Gender (LRG) Research Unit partners with rural communities to identify research priorities. Here
Dr Aninka Claassens (far back), Senior Researcher and Project Leader of LRG’s Rural Women’s Action Research (RWAR)
Project, meets with community leaders at one of RWAR’s field sites.
“The challenges customary law faces
and creates in relation to human rights
and its application by the courts in
changing social and legal contexts
require serious investigation and
scholarship.”
THE CONSTITUTION