Indirect Rule And The Search For Justice Essays In East African Legal History

This book is the first study of the development and decolonization of a British colonial high court in Africa. It traces the history of the High Court of Tanzania from its establishment in 1920 to the end of its institutional process of decolonization in 1971. This process involved disentangling the High Court from colonial state structures and imperial systems that were built on racial inequality while simultaneously increasing the independence of the judiciary and application of British judicial principles. Feingold weaves together the rich history of the Court with a discussion of its judges – both as members of the British Colonial Legal Service and as individuals – to explore the impacts and intersections of imperial policies, national politics, and individual initiative. Colonial Justice and Decolonization in the High Court of Tanzania is a powerful reminder of the crucial roles played by common law courts in the operation and legitimization of both colonial and post-colonial states.

The book is a collection of essays, which aim to situate African legal theory in the context of the myriad of contemporary global challenges; from the prevalence of war to the misery of poverty and disease to the crises of the environment. Apart from being problems that have an indelible African mark on them, a common theme that runs throughout the essays in this book is that African legal theory has been excluded, under-explored or under-theorised in the search for solutions to such contemporary problems. The essays make a modest attempt to reverse this trend. The contributors investigate and introduce readers to the key issues, questions, concepts, impulses and problems that underpin the idea of African legal theory. They outline the potential offered by African legal theory and open up its key concepts and impulses for critical scrutiny. This is done in order to develop a better understanding of the extent to which African legal theory can contribute to discourses seeking to address some of the challenges that confront African and non-African societies alike.

Elizabeth Thornberry is a doctoral candidate in African history at Stanford University. --Book Jacket.