The Making(s) of Law. Postmodern feminist perspectives on local court Justices under Zambian customary law

Abstract: This thesis is the result of a Minor Field Study (MFS) on the judges, the so-called Justices, working in local courts in Zambia, where unwritten customary law is applied. The analysis is based on in-depth interviews, in order to explore the role of the Justices within the structure of customary law and their role in the discrimination against women that the law allegedly generates. Theoretically situated within postmodern feminist legal theory, the analysis leans on deconstruction of the legal structure and the Justices’ discourse, after having established the constitutive power of law in terms of gender identities. The findings of the empirical study show that the Justices take part in the (re)creation of customary law, by having a certain room for interpretation of the customary practices, indicated among other things by their variance on many issues. Who the Justice is may have an effect for the outcome of a case. Since customary law constitutes one authoritarian force by creating incentives and by valuing actions and attitudes, the Justices have a potential influence on the general status of women in society (concerning issues such as marriages, attitudes towards excelling women and proprietary rights).