ABSTRACT
In the Somaliland Protectorate, the Principal Order in Council, 1929, as usual provides that" In all cases, civil and criminal, to which natives are parties, every court (a) shall be guided by native law, so far as it is applicable and is not repugnant to justice and morality, or inconsistent with any Order in Councilor Ordinance, or any regulation or rule made under any Order in Councilor Ordinance; and (b) shall decide all such cases according to substantial justice, without excessive regard to technicalities of procedure and without undue deiay."l Similarly, in making Ordinances, the Governor must" respect existing native laws and customs except so far as the same may be opposed to justice or morality."2 The definition of "native" applicable to this Order in Council, moreover, is much wider than that adopted in some of the territories further south, for it includes any " indigenous inhabitant of Africa or Arabia."3 \Vhile, therefore, the primary reference of these articles is clearly to local and tribal customary law, there can be little doubt that they may also be regarded as including such Islamic law as has in fact been adopted by the people.'
