Access To Justice In Rural Liberia

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Access to Justice in Rural Liberia 1 ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN RURAL LIBERIA Access to Justice in Rural Liberia: Prospects and Challenges Mulbah K. Yorgbor, Jr. A.M.E. Zion University College 166 Benson Street, Monrovia, Liberia December 2010 Access to Justice in Rural Liberia 2 Abstract Those who have criticized informal traditional justice forums as being too traditional to promote development are often too simplistic in their arguments. They are bound up in the traditional-modern dichotomy in which ‘traditional’ is equated with ‘backward’ and ‘modern’ with ‘advanced’. Development can thus only occur within a ‘modern’ framework. The main problem with this equation is that it is based on a very static view of tradition. It ignores the fact that traditions are often ‘invented’ and hence, very ‘modern’ in content.” Three key factors help explain why most Liberians continue to look to traditional and informal justice forums (sassy wood, (i.e trial by ordeal) to resolve disputes: - The vast majority of Liberians continue to live in rural villages where access to the formal state justice system is extremely limited. - The type of justice offered by the formal courts may be inappropriate for the resolution of disputes between people living in rural villages or urban settlements where the breaking of individual social relationships can cause conflict within the community and affect economic co-operation on which the community depends. - State justice system in Liberia operates with an extremely limited infrastructure which does not have the resources to deal with minor disputes in settlements or villages. This research thus seeks to give an in depth analysis into the challenges facing rural dwellers in their quest to access formal justice in an ‘informal’ setting. Access to Justice in Rural Liberia 3 Access to Justice in Rural
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