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LAW REVIEW
[Vol. 53
arate body of customary law in Ethiopia.2 0 9 In resolving legal questions
the courts are bound by the provisions of the law, 21 0 which means the
Constitution, codes, and legislation. The absence of a separate body
of customary law makes Ethiopia practically unique among the nations
of sub-Sahara Africa.
C. Shall There Be Different Law for Different Religious Groups?
Although this question may seem a strange one to the American
reader, the matter of different law based on religion is a real problem
for many African countries in the process of developing their legal
systems, since frequently an African country has large Moslem and
Christian populations. The line between customary and religious law
is not a sharp one, so that as separate systems of customary law were
recognized, separate systems of religious law were recognized as well.
This was of primary importance to the Moslem population. For Moslems,
the law of marriage, family relations, and succession has been
regarded as intimately connected with the practice of their religion.
In almost all Moslem countries a different law of family relations is
still applied according to the religion of the parties. 21 1 This is also
true in African countries which are predominantly Moslem or have a
large Moslem population. In the Sudan, for example, a system of
Moslem courts was established with jurisdiction over Moslems in these
matters. 2 1 2 Likewise, in Northern Nigeria all the courts are to ad-
209 Dr. Jacques Vanderlinden would disagree with this unequivocal statement.
Dr. Vanderlinden contends that the "existing legal situations" provision of the
Civil Code, art. 3348, requires the application of customary law to the legal situations
created prior to the code, that is, to legal situations created under customary
law. This being so, customary law is not completely abolished as a separate system,
but continues to be in force with respect to legal situations created prior to
the code. See Vanderlinden, An Introduction to the Sources of Ethiopian Law,
3 J. ETH. L. 244-46 (1966). He hereby challenges the position taken by Professor
Krzeczunowicz, supra note 36. See Professor Krzeczunowicz's reply and Dr. Vanderlinden's
counter-reply, 3 J. EvL L. 621, 635 (1966). I cannot agree with Dr.
Vanderlinden's position in light of the circumstances surrounding the adoption of
the new code. The clear intention of all concerned was that customary law
should not exist as a separate part of the legal system, and it is difficult to see
customary law "coming in by the back door," so to speak, under a general provision.
The provision only requires that the existence of the legal situations be
recognized, but they are now subject to the provisions of the code.
210 ETmoPiN REvIsED CoNST. art. 110.
2 11 See Anderson, The Future of Islamic Law in British Commonwealth Territories
in Africa, 27 LAw & CosFrP. PROB. 617, 619-21 (1962). In Egypt, for example,
although separate courts based on religion have been abolished, the courts
apply to every Egyptian a personal law based on his religion in family and succession
matters.
212A ALLOrr, supra note 56, at 134-35. See also Guttman, supra note 48, at
407. Professor Guttman also discusses why Mohammedan law was not to be