ABSTRACT
The extent to which recognition is accorded to customary law and to the basic rights of tribal communities is a consequence of a multiplicity of factors, none of which is determinative, and all of which have an effect to some degree or another. The most pronounced factor is formal acknowledgment in a legal document – such as where a treaty is entered into or a law legislated, laying down in uniform manner the parameters within which customs may continue to be practiced, or alternatively stating their subordination to the state legal system, or even their abolition.
