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Towards an Inclusive Vision of Law Reform and Legal Pluralism In TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE VISION OF LAW REFORM AND LEGAL PLURALISM IN GHANA by Ama Fowa Hammond A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in The Faculty of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Studies (Law) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2016 © Ama Fowa Hammond, 2016 Abstract In post-colonial Ghana, some rules of customary law have been criticised as being inimical to the rule of law and to socioeconomic development. As such, customary law has been a key focus of legal reform. There has been resistance to law reform efforts, especially from communities in rural areas because the state and customary legal systems have failed to reconcile their perceptions of law and legal responsibilities. Taking these legal conflicts as its starting point, this dissertation explores the mechanisms for effective reforms of customary law in a legally plural Ghana. One key objective is to consider the types of legal reforms that might be agreeable to rural dwellers in ways that ensure compliance with state law. Drawing on legal pluralism as a guiding framework for analyzing the relationship between state and customary legal systems, and focusing on intestate succession as one concrete example, I argue that in order for legal reforms to be embraced, especially by rural dwellers, the state must adopt an inclusive vision of law reform, by modifying the machinery of law reform to meet the particular needs of its people. In the context of intestate succession, I argue that the courts should be given discretion, based on suggested guidelines, to vary the extended family’s portion of intestate property. In addition, I argue that changes to intestate law must also be accompanied by political, economic, educational and even psychological changes to the structures that frame the customary legal system. In sum, legal reform must also mean social, political and economic reform. It must also mean establishing and nurturing meaningful reciprocal ii relationships among legal systems and empowering people to consider engaging with and accepting opposing views, with a view to managing conflicts. iii Preface This dissertation is the original, unpublished, independent work by Ama Fowa Hammond. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ ii Preface ......................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. xi Dedication ................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 1.1 RESEARCH QUESTION AND THESIS STATEMENT .......................................... 4 1.2 OUTLINE OF THE GHANA LEGAL SYSTEM ........................................................ 6 1.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND THE HISTORY OF LAW REFORM EFFORTS IN GHANA ............................................................................................................................... 10 1.4 CONTRIBUTION OR JUSTIFICATION .................................................................. 16 1.5 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK: LEGAL PLURALISM ............................................ 19 1.5.1 Limitations and Justification of Theoretical Framework ............................... 23 1.6 SCHOLARLY VIEWS ON LEGAL PLURALISM AND LAW REFORM .............. 28 1.6.1 Response to Scholarly Views ........................................................................... 34 1.7 METHODS AND SOURCES .................................................................................... 37 1.7.1 Historical Documents ......................................................................................... 37 1.7.2 Court Decisions .................................................................................................. 39 1.7.3 Legislation ........................................................................................................... 40 1.7.4 Commentaries..................................................................................................... 41 v 1.7.5 Ethnographic Research Data ........................................................................... 41 1.8 ORGANIZATION OF CHAPTERS .......................................................................... 42 Chapter 2: THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUSTOMARY LAW REFORM IN GHANA ........45 2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 45 2.2 A DESCRIPTION OF THE PRECOLONIAL TRADITIONAL LEGAL ORDER . 46 2.3 SOURCES OF CUSTOMARY LAW ........................................................................ 51 2.3.1 Custom ................................................................................................................. 52 2.3.2 Subsidiary Legislation ........................................................................................ 53 2.3.3 Religion ................................................................................................................ 53 2.3.4 Summary ............................................................................................................. 55 2.4 DEVELOPMENT OF CUSTOMARY LAW DURING THE EARLY COLONIAL ERA: 1821-1944 ..................................................................................................................... 56 2.4.1 Relationship between the Customary and Imported Legal Systems ......... 65 2.5 FORMAL RECOGNITION OF CUSTOMARY LAW: SUPREME COURT ORDINANCE, 1876 ............................................................................................................... 66 2.6 FACTORS THAT ACCOUNTED FOR CHANGES TO THE CUSTOMARY LAW…. ..................................................................................................................................... 73 2.6.1 Christianity ........................................................................................................... 73 2.6.2 Creolization, Economic Progress and Education .......................................... 75 2.7 WHAT IS MISSING IN LAW REFORM? LESSONS OF THE PAST AND REFORM IMPLICATIONS .................................................................................................... 81 2.8 CUSTOMARY LAW IN THE POST-COLONIAL ERA: ASCERTAINMENT AND APPLICATION, 1957-2015 ................................................................................................... 90 vi 2.9 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 97 Chapter 3: THE INTESTATE SUCCESSION LAW, PRESSURES FOR CHANGE AND THE IMPACT OF REFORMS ...................................................................................................99 3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 99 3.2 THE PRE-1985 STATUS QUO: THE DEVELOPMENT OF CUSTOMARY LAW THROUGH THE LAW OF SUCCESSION TO PROPERTY ......................................... 100 3.2.1 The Traditional Family ..................................................................................... 101 3.2.2 The Matrilineal Family System: The Property Rights of Spouses ............ 104 3.2.3 The Matrilineal Family System: The Property Rights of Children ............. 106 3.2.4 Problems with the Matrilineal System of Inheritance .................................. 107 3.2.5 State Intervention ............................................................................................. 109 3.2.6 Judicial Reforms ............................................................................................... 112 3.3 INTERNATIONAL PRESSURES FOR CHANGE ............................................... 122 3.4 THE INTESTATE SUCCESSION LAW, 1985, (PNDC LAW 111) ................... 124 3.4.1 Understanding the Intestate Succession Law ............................................. 126 3.5 HOW RELEVANT IS CUSTOMARY LAW TO THE CURRENT LAW ON INTESTATE SUCCESSION ............................................................................................... 130 3.6 CURRENT PRESSURES FOR CHANGE AND THE CONSTITUTION .......... 139 3.6.1 Non-Governmental Organisations ................................................................. 141 3.6.2 The Courts ......................................................................................................... 144 3.6.3 The Press .......................................................................................................... 146 3.7 THE EFFECT OF LAW REFORMS ...................................................................... 149 3.8 WHY REFORMS HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL ........................................ 154 vii 3.9 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 160 Chapter 4: ATTEMPTS AT LAW REFORM AND THE MUTUAL CONCESSION APPROACH ...............................................................................................................................161 4.1 INTRODUCTION
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