Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-246) and index.

Introduction : a bifurcated theory of law in hybrid societies / Brian Z. Tamanaha -- Pakistan : jirgas dispensing justice without state control / Tilmann J. Röder and Naveed A. Shinwari -- South Sudan : linking the chiefs' judicial authority and the statutory court system / Katharina Diehl, Ruben Madol Arol and Simone Malz -- Ethiopia : legal and judicial plurality and the incorporation of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms within the State Justice System / Girmachew Alemu Aneme -- Bolivia : normative equality between State and customary law. Utopia or the future of hybrid normative systems? / Lorena Ossio Bustillos -- South Africa : legal recognition of traditional courts-legal pluralism in action / Christa Rautenbach -- Non-state justice institutions : a matter of fact and a matter of legislation / Mathias Kötter -- From nomative pluralism to a pluralism of norm enforcement regimes : a governance research perspective / Gunnar Folke Schuppert -- Legal pluralism from the perspective of international law / Rüdiger Wolfrum.

"Traditional forms of dispute resolution have become an important aspect in the political and academic debates on law and development and in numerous cases of constitution-making and judicial reform. This book focuses on decision-making by non-state justice institutions at the interface of traditional, religious, and state laws. The authors discuss the implications of non-state justice for the rule of law, presenting case studies on traditional councils and courts in Pakistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Bolivia and South Africa. Looking at the legitimacy of non-state justice from various angles, this collection explores the ways in which non-state legal systems and governmental structures are embedded in official state justice institutions and how this affects the protection of human rights. "-- Provided by publisher.