Institute for Ethnographic Research Public Talk Announcement
Justice Artifacts: Dispute Settlement and the Production of Legal Authority in Mozambique
presented by:
Dr. Euclides Gonçalves
(Kaleidoscopio, Mozambique – Research in Culture and Public Policy)
Date/Time:
11-12h30 Monday December 7, 2015
Location:
2nd Floor Conference Rm, Anthropology Dept., 2110 G St. NW
Abstract
Justice sector reforms in most developing countries often work under the assumption that there are clear boundaries between what is termed formal and informal justice systems. Mozambican policy and practice show that this is not always the case as in everyday practice, various dispute resolution institutions such as District Councils, Community Courts, religious leaders, traditional chiefs and neighbourhood secretaries operate in close articulation with the police, the local public prosecutor’s offices and judicial courts. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in various dispute settlement institutions in Northern and Southern Mozambique, I show how, in a context where the boundaries between formal and informal justice system are blurred, documents are used to give notice, record evidences, transfer cases, pass “verdicts” and how relevant excerpts from legislation become central to the production of authority in dispute settlements. In such contexts meaningful justice sector reforms should more fully account for existing modalities of legal authority production and seek to incorporate diverse practices in justice provision.
Dr. Euclides Gonçalves is a social anthropologist and director at Kaleidoscopio – Research in Public Policy and Culture. His research focuses on governance, bureaucratic processes and political rituals. He is currently a Open Society Fellow working on a project that looks at how in the context of the Mozambican justice sector reform, citizens and government officials produce and appropriate documents to settle everyday disputes and promote their own interests. He examines the relationship between formal and informal justice sectors and how everyday justice provision practices might inform ongoing justice reform efforts. Recent publications include an article in African Affairs “Orientações superiores: Time and bureaucratic authority in Mozambique.”
1