ABSTRACT
The Gambia became independent within the Commonwealth on 18th February, 1965, with a Constitution which has been said to be a sophisticated version of the Westminster export models. It is fair to say that no event of remarkable constitutional import has taken place in the Gambia since the unsuccessful attempt to impugn the Gambia Validation Order in the English Courts. Surprisingly little significant change has taken place in the judicial system of the Gambia since the re-organisation of the courts in 1964 under the Courts Ordinance of that year. In the field of family law, particularly in marriage and succession, there has been noticeable judicial and legislative activity. The effectiveness of the Act as a safeguard for the enforcement of debts may well be overreached if the courts allowed the members of a debtor’s family to retain or claim money which ought to have gone to the outside creditors. .
