APCJ_1528_Win2010_00i_122_4 12/30/10 3:22 PM Page 4 4 AFRICA PEACE AND CONFLICT JOURNAL Somaliland’s customary law is based on compensatory practices, while its civil law is more punitive in nature.9 Customary law holds the offender and his or her sub-clan or clan accountable for a criminal action. Its process of elder-based consensus places great weight on precedence in order to determine outcomes and impose fines, usually as camels or cash. Civil or case law, meanwhile, is focused on the individualistic use of incarceration and fines determined by a judge or judges, who depend on legal writings. In addition to examining the relationship between customary law and civil law in Somaliland, the research presented here proffers that restorative justice theory and practices might be included in the legal equation to close the gap between the two existing systems. Restorative justice, like customary law, is about establishing or rebuilding a relationship after acts of violence or crime have damaged or severed it. It is also a mechanism that helps establish responsibility for the offending action. In general, restorative justice perceives a role for both traditional models of problem solving and a well-functioning legal and judicial system—an integrated system that will ‘safeguard the rights of individuals and . . . establish some kind of truth when it is being denied’.10 The research examined modernization theory as a possible approach for addressing Somaliland’s issues, but it was ultimately rejected. This theory assumes ‘a relatively benign relationship between advanced and less-advanced nations and [that] development occurs through the assimilation of these groups or nations into a more modern and complex society with the appropriate values’.11 According to this theory, all that is required is a transfer of knowledge, technology, legal frameworks, and cultural norms found in the more advanced societies. Ethical standards applied to the research required avoiding the imposition of solutions from the outside that could be culturally biased and potentially damaging to the identities, worldviews, and well-being of the people of Somaliland in their application.12 This study on Somaliland rests on the principles and methods that reflect the importance of listening, humility, nonviolence (in this case, not doing psychological violence), and establishment of just partnerships. DATA SOURCES, METHODS, AND RESULTS A literature review of Somalia and Somaliland’s customary law was conducted, as well as a review of the use of customary law to end the war in Somaliland and help establish a post-conflict government.13 A literature review of major contributions to the 9. G. Johnstone, Restorative Justice: Ideas, Values and Debates (Collumpton, Devon, UK, Willan Publishing, 2005); H. Zehr and B. Towes (eds.), Critical Issues in Restorative Justice (New York, Monsey, 2004). 10. Zehr, Changing Lenses, 273. 11. T. L. Jantzi and V. Jantzi, ‘Development paradigms and peacebuilding theories of change: Analyzing embedded assumptions in development and peacebuilding’, Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 5:1 (2009): 65–80 (available online). 12. J. Sutherland, Worldview Skills: Transforming Conflict from the Inside Out (Vancouver, Worldview Strategies, 2005). 13. D. Sullivan and L. Tifft (eds.), Handbook of Restorative Justice (London, Routledge International, 2006); Johnstone, Restorative Justice; Zehr, Changing Lenses; Zehr and Towes, Critical Issues in Restorative Justice. Somalia had a civil war in the early 1990s between the government of Mohamed Siad Barre, which wanted to solidify its control over all of Somalia, and members of the Somali National Movement (SNM), who opposed his government and control. The SNM (and other rebel groups) defeated pro-Barre forces in January 1991, but internal fighting continued in Somaliland, the northwestern region of Somalia.