Customary justice to empower legal rights of the poors

Development agencies, research institutes and international donors around the world are considering the modernization of  customary justice systems as a means to strengthen legal rights of poor and marginalized populations in developing countries. In the past, the simple and artefact introduction of western legal principles without  any linkage with indigenous systems to reform the justice systems in third world countries  has proved to be inadequate. A re-elaboration of indigenous traditions will have more chance to be accepted and uderstood by indigenous populations and favour the integration of society layers otherwise marginalized and discriminated. The International Development Law Organization has recently launched a number of reports for its research projects based in Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Liberia and Uganda.