In 1969, Malawi accorded extensive criminal jurisdiction to its Local or Traditional Courts, in an attempt to make the administration of justice more palatable to the Government and the people. There has been a sufficient number of Traditional Court decisions to permit a tentative analysis of the results of this experiment. A deeper study awaits the passage of time...

In 1960, the Government made the first modern attempt at a comprehensive and formal statement of Ethiopian private law by promulgating Civil and Commercial Codes.2 An earlier source of private law rules, the Fetha Negast (Law of the Kings) has been part of the Ethiopian legal experience since at least 1686, when it was translated from the Roman-influenced thirteent...