This paper looks at issues of gender and tenure in African customary law. It argues that under all systems of law in many African countries, ownership of land and associated resources is very much anchored in patriarchy. It decries the failure to isolate positive aspects of customary law and the preponderance of women-unfriendly customary law which influences statutory and other forms of law. Part II of the paper provides the conceptual and theoretical premises of the paper. It looks at patriarchy, gender and law and their impact on tenure relations emphasising the male dominance.

This book offers a historical analysis of the embattled structures of rural local governance in South Africa, with specific reference to the role of traditional authorities in Xhalanga in the Eastern Cape. More specifically, the book illustrates how at least in the Xhalanga district chieftainship was contested from the establishment of the district in 1865 to the advent of democracy in South Africa.

أعد هذا الدليل لمساعدة المتخصصين في حيازة الأراضي وفي الإدارة العقارية لمن يشتركون في إعادة بناء نظم الحيازة والإدارة العقارية في بلدان خرجت من صراع عنيف. وفي هذه الظروف يكون توفير أمن الحصول على الأراضي أمرا شديد التعقيد. والمعتاد أن تؤدي الصراعات العنيفة إلى نزوح كثير من الناس. وفي نهاية الصراع قد يجد العائدون إلى ديارهم أن أرضهم في أيدي آخرين. وقد تكون هناك عدة مطالبات مشروعة تتنافس على نفس الأرض وذلك بسبب تتابع موجات النزوح - وقد لا يستطيع كثيرون استرداد أراضيهم ويضطرون إلى الاستيطان في مكان آخر.

Le présent guide intitulé « Accès à l’espace rural et administration des terres après des conflits violents » a été élaboré pour aider les spécialistes concernés à remettre sur pied les régimes fonciers et l’administration foncière dans les pays émergeant de conflits violents. Il est particulièrement difficile, dans de telles situations, d’assurer un accès sans danger à la terre. Les conflits violents entraînent généralement le déplacement d’une grande partie de la population. À l’issue du conflit, certains de ceux qui regagnent leur foyer trouvent leur bien occupé par d’autres.

Post-war Mozambique confronted the challenge of reforming land policy and legislation
with an innovative land law that protects customary rights while promoting investment
and development. Most rural households have customarily acquired land rights, now
legally equivalent to an official State land use right. When necessary, they can be proven
by analysing local land management and production systems, resulting in large areas

Asks what is customary tenure and what do we know about tenure systems and their consequences in Northern Uganda. Examines trends in land transactions and who is selling and buying land, certificates and titles for investment, and who owns customary land. Looks at protection from land alienation, the rights of women and children, the evolution of customary tenure and continuing changes in customary law. Concludes with policy recommendations and a plea for recognition that land is increasingly a cause of conflict and impoverishment.

ABSTRACT:
"Is there a ‘best practice’ model for the legal recognition of customary tenure?
If not, is it possible to identify the circumstances in which a particular model
would be most appropriate? This article considers these questions in the light
of economic theories of property rights, particularly as illustrated by the
World Bank’s 2003 land policy report. While these theories have their flaws,
the underlying concept of tenure security allows a typological framework for

Quels enseignements peut-on tirer des expériences de mise en œuvre des Plans fonciers ruraux dans la perspective de la formulation de politiques et de législations foncières adaptées en Afrique de l’Ouest et d’amélioration des stratégies de sécurisation foncière des droits des producteurs ruraux ? La présente étude vise à répondre à une telle question à travers une analyse de la mise en œuvre des opérations de Plan foncier rural au Bénin, au Burkina et en Côte d’Ivoire. Il s’agira de rendre compte de la diversité des pratiques mises en oeuvre en fonction ocaux.

This paper is concerned primarily with the functions of land administration. Its
purpose is to describe the current land administration practices as understood by
traditional structures with a view to unpacking some of the components of the existing
African tenure arrangements in KwaZulu-Natal. This, it is hoped, will help to create a
base to understand how communal land systems operate, regardless of which structure
governs them, in order to support practices that secure tenure effectively.

Contains sections on the effects on women of Rwanda’s civil war, the legal system, the gap between customary law and land legislation, research findings about Rwandan women’s rights, a number of dispute case studies, including methods of dispute settlement. Argues that a gap exists between customary and modern legal systems, creating both land access opportunities and constraints for women. Demonstrates the creativity with which women are bridging that gap in a state of legal uncertainty.

In recent years, local people and rural communities have assumed increasing prominence in strategies for natural resource management.This paper briefly reviews some of the central legal issues that are associated with this shift. In doing so, its goals are limited. It does not ad dress fundamental questions about when, where and what kind of management works, nor attempt to identify the political, social, economic and environmental ingredient s for success – subjects on which there is a huge, if still inconclusive, literature.