Hum Rights Rev (2017) 18:231–232

DOI 10.1007/s12142-017-0454-6
BOOK REVIEW

International Actors and Traditional Justice

in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies and Interventions
in Transitional Justice and Justice Sector Aid by Eva
Brems, Giselle Coradi, and Martien Schotsmans (Eds.)
Cambridge: Intersentia, 2015

Hakeem O. Yusuf 1

Published online: 5 April 2017

# Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2017

The contributions in International Actors and Traditional Justice in Sub-Saharan

Africa: Policies and Interventions in Transitional Justice and Justice Sector Aid raise
and address the importance of engaging with the conditions of the local environment in
which transitional justice and justice sector aid interventions occur in Africa. Editors
Eva Brems, Giselle Coradi, and Martien Schotsmans contend that the involvement of
international actors in the domains of transitional justice and justice sector reform in
Africa is Bnoteworthy^ (3), specifically because of the numerous conflict situations in
the continent. Those engaged with both issues in that part of the world—whether as
academics, policy makers, or practitioners—will likely agree with their view, since
securing justice for victims in transitional (and some non-transitional) societies remains
a critical issue across Africa.
The 16-chapter volume examines the typically complex context in which the
interventions of international actors take place in Africa, specifically with reference
to the role of traditional justice. The contributions are presented in four different parts,
with the first and last parts representing the introduction and conclusion. The second
part focuses on the first major theme of international actors and traditional justice in
transitional justice, while the third part focuses on international actors and traditional
justice in justice sector aid.
The contributions explore whether international actors active in transitional justice
and justice sector aid in Africa have views or policies on traditional justice—and, if
they do, what is the nature of such perspectives and policies? Further, the book assesses

* Hakeem O. Yusuf
h.yusuf@bham.ac.uk

1
Law School, College of Arts and Law, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Midlands B15
2TT, UK
232 Yusuf H.O.

how international actors deal with possible tensions between traditional justice and
human rights. In this way, the book focuses on the identifiable trends in the practices of
such actors, as well as seeks to link them with existing literature to determine the extent
to which the work of international actors reflects insights from extant scholarship. The
interventions of international actors in transitional justice and justice sector aid have
considerable impact on (and are impacted upon) by the complexities arising from the
plural legal context in which such interventions are being made. It is thus important to
understand normative and empirical forces (or theory and practice) at work in the
interaction of international actors engaged in transitional justice and justice sector aid,
on one hand, and traditional justice on the other.
The authors rightly affirm that traditional justice remains a very important part of life
in many societies—especially among the ordinary, non-elite, rural peoples and com-
munities in sub-Saharan Africa. This is irrespective of state support or political will to
accord traditional justice mechanisms recognition in the regular or transitional justice
landscape. International actors in transitional justice engage with traditional justice not
based on their perception of the intrinsic value of the mechanisms, but as part of their
support for local ownership of peace-building efforts (an issue that has become
prominent in the development field). The net result of this is the absence of a coherent
policy on the application of traditional justice in post-conflict societies in Africa.
The style of the book, which includes smoothly written short chapters, makes it a
very accessible and interesting read. However, the brevity and multiplicity of the
chapters also sometimes results in fragmentation of the discussion, as well as avoidable
repetition. Nonetheless, the authors have written a deeply engaging and well-researched
book analyzing the experiences and encounters of a myriad international actors central
to the (re)design and reformation of justice delivery throughout Africa. This edited
volume highlights the need to engage with the cosmovision (worldview) of local people
in the quest for securing justice within their societies.
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