Christopher Nyinevi on the Influence of Superstition on Ghana's Customary Law

Christopher Nyinevi, Kwame Kkrumah University of Science & Technology Faculty of Law, is publishing Winnowing the Chaff Out of the Grains: The Intermixture of Customary Law and Spiritualism in Ghana in the Commonwealth Law Bulletin no. 3 (September 2015). Here is the abstract.

Belief in the supernatural runs so deep in the cultural lives of Ghanaians that customary law – ‘the rules of law, which by custom are applicable to particular communities in Ghana’ – has not been spared its influence. This article asserts that state sanctioned enforcement of superstition inspired customs violates the fundamental constitutional value of freedom of conscience relative to persons who do not subscribe to such beliefs in the supernatural. But in order to accommodate the twin state interests of preserving customary laws and respecting the freedom of conscience, this article proposes the development of a body of customary laws devoid of superstition. It sets out to discuss why this idea is imperative and how it can be achieved.

The full text is not available from SSRN.

Law and Custom In Legal History

P. G. Monateri, Sciences Po, Ecole de Droit; Law School, University of Turin;  has published Law, Language and Custom. (Legge, Linguaggio e Costume.). Here is the abstract (in English and Italian).

English Abstract: The Author investigates the ambiguities of the term Law and Custom, to deepen the relationship they maintain with the language devoted to their presentification. Law always supersede the words that try to capture its meaning, and the opposition between Law and Custom is never the same in Legal History. Peculiarly today old theories are employed to establish a new concept of soft law as a powerful tool of global governance, but they rest on quicksands. These theories point at a 'suspension of disbelief' grounded more on aesthetic metaphors than on scientific premises.
Italian Abstract: L'autore investiga le ambiguità dei termini Legge e Costume, per approfondire la relazione che mantengono con il linguaggio incaricato di presentificarli. La Legge oltrepassa sempre le parole che cercano di catturarne il significato, e l'opposizione tra Legge e Costume non è mai costante nella storia del diritto. In particolare oggi le vecchie teorie sono impiegate per stabilire nuovi concetti come soft law in grado di fungere da potenti strumenti di governo del globale, ma le loro fondamenta giacciono sulle sabbie mobili. Queste teorie puntano invero ad una 'sospensione dell'incredulità' fondata pià su metafore estetiche che su premesse scientifiche.

The full text of the paper is not available from SSRN.