Law and Justice in a Multicultural Society: The Case of Mozambique

In this book we present the main results of a research project on the systems of justice in Mozambique, conducted between 1996 and 2000.1 The study was undertaken under the auspices of the Supreme Court through an academic partnership between the Center for African Studies (CEA), Eduardo Mondlane Universit)" Mozambique and the Center for Social Studies (CES) at the School of Economics, Coimbra University, Portugal. The project was carried out by a research team from two countries directed by two coordinators, one from Mozambique -joào Carlos Trindade -and one from Portugal - Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The Mozambican research team consisted of 15 researchers five of whom were part of the core research team. The Portuguese team included five researchers. This monograph analyzes the complex network which represents the judicial system in Mozambique by interrogating the role of the multiple entities intervening in the system, both in a colonial and a post-colonial context. Until the onset of Portuguese colonization toward the end of the nineteenth century, the various peoples of Mozambique did Dot live under a single political authority; they existed as independent entities, with various forms of political and social organization. The transition to the twentieth century became synonymous with the establishment of colonial rule, symbolizing a critical period of radical change that led to the creation of the Mozambican political scenario. The different economic and political strategies implemented by the colonial state in Mozambique resulted in important changes in the organization of power. After independence, political-legal cultures as diverse as the Eurocentric, socialist revolutionary culture or the Eurocentric, capitalist democratic culture have been added to the existing mix of legal orders.