(pradd) – liberia - Land Tenure and Property Rights Portal

2.0 STATUS OFCUSTOMARY PROPERTYRIGHTS AND LEGALGROUNDS FORRECOGNITIONThis section briefly informs the link between insecurity of tenure and current government policy with regardto the treatment of all unregistered land as “public land,” as well as government’s interpretation andapplication of its purported superior property rights within the context of Liberian domestic law andinternational law. It is a brief explanation of the legal principles underlying the dual and ambivalent system ofcustomary and statutory property rights in Liberia.The phenomenon of the joint existence of statutory and customary legal regimes is called “legal pluralism.” Itrefers to the co-existence and interaction of different legal systems within a country or region, and is commonacross Africa. In other parts of the world, such as Norway, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, andAustralia, pluralism also exists in the form of recognition of indigenous groups’ traditional or customary wayof life. There is usually a cultural, ethnic, and/or religious component to customary law systems.To determine the legal status of ethnic and rural communities’ communal property rights in Liberia, oneneeds to consider the general international law position, as well as Liberia’s obligations in terms ofinternational law, Liberian Constitutional provisions, and specific domestic laws. Additionally, policy trendsand laws in other sectors also need to be evaluated to measure it for consistency.Legal Pluralism: Illustration of the Interaction and Coexistence of Different Legal SystemsState LawInternational LawProjectCustomaryLawReligiousLawPRADD LIBERIA: A REVIEW OF THE LEGAL, REGULATORY AND POLICY FRAMEWORKGOVERNING ARTISANAL DIAMOND MINING IN LIBERIA 5