ABSTRACT
This chapter explores both aspects conflict and cooperation in Ghana where traditional authorities are particularly powerful and official state policy regarding their judicial function has been ambivalent to say the least. The chapter explores these questions concerning the relationship between state courts and traditional leaders in Ghana as an example of institutional pluralism in the postcolonial state. Each of the regions of Ghana has a Regional House of Chiefs comprising only 'Paramount Chiefs' that accepts appeals from Traditional Councils and serves as a first instance for conflicts between different paramount chiefs. The chapter shows that theoretical approaches on forum shopping and governance theory can inform research on this institutional dimension of legal pluralism. Even if the relationship between these different jurisdictional actors is often characterized by conflict and competition,.
