The Relationship between Islamic and Customary Law in the Sudan

I do not wish to trouble you with the details of the system of courts in the Sudan, which is extremely complicated, but it is necessary to sketch the bare outlines. For some time it has been true to say that the Sudan has an “integrated” system in that the Local Courts form part of the judicial hierarchy and come under the supervision of the judiciary rather than the executive. But it would be misleading to call the system “unified”, as the judiciary is split into two quite separate hierarchies: the Sharia Division of which the Grand Kadi is the head, and the Civil Division over which I have the honour to preside. Within the Civil Division there are three main types of courts: “Civil Courts” as established under the Civil Justice Ordinance, Native Courts set up under the Native Courts Ordinance in the six Northern Provinces, and Chiefs Courts set up by the Chiefs’ Courts Ordinance in the three Southern Provinces.