Rule of Law

Current Projects: Relations Between State and Non-State Justice Systems in Afghanistan

A study of the non-state justice system in Afghanistan and its utility in administering post-conflict justice is currently in progress, based on the work of a three-member team of experts.

While the state justice system in Afghanistan is far weaker in most of the country than its tribal and traditional mechanisms of justice, efforts by Afghan officials and the international community have focused exclusively on the state system, which will have very limited capacity over the next few years.

The USIP study is exploring policy options for potentially linking the two systems. A series of workshops in four provinces in late 2005 and early 2006 brought together local actors from the non-state and state systems to discuss potential linkages in the areas of criminal law, property adjudication and treatment of women. These workshops culminated in a high-level conference in Kabul in December 2006, aimed at identifying and building consensus on policy options.

 December 2006: Conference on the Relationship Between State and Non-State Justice Systems in Afghanistan

 More on the Role of Non-State Justice Systems in Fostering the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict Societies project

USIP Documents on Non-State Justice in Afghanistan:

• The Clash of Two Goods: State and Non-State Dispute Resolution in Afghanistan
  Thomas Barfield, Neamat Nojumi, and J Alexander Thier, November 2006 (PDF- 544KB) |  Download this paper in Dari
• Informal Dispute Resolution and the Formal Legal System in Contemporary Northern Afghanistan
  Thomas Barfield, April 21, 2006 (PDF- 579KB)
• Afghan Customary Law and Its Relationship to Formal Judicial Institutions in Contemporary Northern Afghanistan
  Thomas Barfield, June 26, 2003 (PDF- 287KB)

Related Documents on Non-State Justice in Afghanistan:

• Field Study of Informal and Customary Justice in Afghanistan and Recommendations on Improving Access to Justice and Relations Between Formal Courts and Informal Bodies
  USAID, June 2005 (PDF- 2.03MB)
• Balancing Relations Between Society and State: Legal Steps Toward National Reconciliation and Reconstruction of Afghanistan
  The American Journal of Comparative Law, Fall 2004 (PDF- 99KB)
• Building a Post-War Justice System in Afghanistan
  Ali Wardak, 2004 (PDF- 99KB)
• The Customary Laws of Afghanistan
  The International Legal Foundation, December 2003 (PDF- 597KB)