ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates the critical importance of indigenous traditions, customs, and native laws even in a contemporary State. It synopsizes the forms of the relationships between indigenous and foreign systems of law and justice in each of the twelve countries. The book focuses on the elements of justice and law reconstruction in a postcolony, based mainly on the Nigerian example. It offers specific suggestions to rebuild and strengthen the system for more effective and efficient justice. The book emphasizes the need for a distinctly new outlook on law and justice. Reconstructing Law and Justice in a Postcolony establishes a prototype for postcolonial or post-occupational law and justice reconstruction. The indigenous/foreign justice relationships identified in the twelve countries provide the comparative background for the following consideration of law and justice reconstruction.
