Monica de Souza Louw is the Deputy Director of the Land and Accountability Research Centre (LARC) at the University of Cape Town and heads activities within LARC's Traditional Governance stream. She is responsible for monitoring legislation, policy and practices dealing with the role and recognition of traditional institutions in South Africa, and providing legal analysis for use in advocacy and litigation. Since 2010 she has researched the registration of customary marriages, the status of traditional councils, processes for recognising traditional leaders and resolving leadership disputes, and participation requirements for the making of legislation on customary law.