Coordinator
Name: Ms. J. Ubink
Work address: KOG, room B3.18
Telephone: +31 (0)71-527 7262
Contact information: By appointment through email
Email: j.ubink@law.leidenuniv.nl
Department: Meta Juridica / Jurisprudence
Division: Van Vollenhoven Instituut
Address secretariat: KOG, room B3.05
Telephone secretariat: +31 (0)71-527 7769
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 9:00-12:30 and 13:30-16:00
Email: vollenhoven@law.leidenuniv.nl
Description
Good governance, human rights, the rule of law: in these days law and governance are often presented as the remedy against ‘the African condition’. During this course we explore the complex relations between law, governance and change in Africa. What role, for instance, did law play in the colonisation process? What does the changing place of the state in Africa – constrained by the international legal and socio-political system, challenged by chieftaincies and decentralized local governments – mean for the ability to bring about change through the law? How do other legal systems – religious, customary, NGO-law, international human rights – interact with this state law, for instance when it comes to the management of natural resources like land and water? We do not only look at conceptual tools to understand the relation between law and societal change, but also at selected case studies: the new relevance of traditional authorities in Africa, the management of land in Ghana, successes and failures of legal development cooperation and the revival of traditional courts to deal with the genocide in Rwanda are amongst them. As such, this course is as much about the relation between law and society in the contemporary world as it is about the present condition of Africa.
Methods of instruction
Lectures: – Number of (2 hour) lectures: 10 – Required preparation by students: Students will have to prepare a number of assignments.
Course materials
Reader
Examination
Examination Forms: – Written exam – Written assignments during the course
Areas to be tested within the exam: – Reader + Lecture notes
Course requirements
This course is suitable for 2nd and 3rd year students in Law, Social Sciences, Public Administration, History, Arts.
Time table
See: http://www.leidenuniv.nl/rechten/osi/wg/
Application
Via u-twist
Blackboard
Yes
Remarks
None.
Contractonderwijs
Belangstellenden die deze cursus in het kader van Contractonderwijs willen volgen (met tentamen), vinden hier meer informatie over kosten, inschrijving, voorwaarden, etc.