African Customary Law will be prioritised when the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) Professor Anthony Diala takes his seat as an Associate Member of the International Academy of Comparative Law (IACL).
Prof Diala is currently the Director of the Centre for Legal Integration in Africa at the University of the Western Cape.
Founded in 1924 in The Hague, Netherlands, the IACL is the world’s foremost organisation for promoting comparative law. The academy fosters collaboration among leading legal scholars worldwide through its scholarly publications, including blogs, reports, and journals, and its organisation of symposia, thematic congresses, and the quadrennial International Congress of Comparative Law.
Membership is by peer nomination, a recognition of exceptional scholarship, with elections conducted by the academy’s members.
There are less than ten South Africa-based academics in the IACL, with UWC contributing nearly half of this number. Other members of the IACL from UWC are Prof Julia Sloth-Nielsen and Prof Benyam Mezmur.
Prof Diala’s research and teaching in the Department of Private Law reflect his commitment to advancing comparative indigenous law and human rights. He convenes interdisciplinary courses, including a Master of Laws (LLM) in Legal Pluralism and Family Law and the undergraduate module, Legal and Religious Pluralism.
These programmes, underpinned by a comparative law approach, position UWC as a hub for innovative legal scholarship.
Prof Diala said: “I am delighted by my election because African customary law has yet to gain significant recognition in the Global North, where legal theories remain Eurocentric. Moreover, knowledge of comparative Indigenous law is crucial in an era of unprecedented migration, technological innovation, and the use of social media. I am eager to continue my research and teaching in this field within the Centre for Legal Integration in Africa.”
Beyond the University, Prof. Diala’s impact extends across South Africa and internationally. He is the editor of the African Journal of Legal Studies and serves on the Advisory Committee on Matrimonial Property (Project 100E) of the South African Law Reform Commission. In 2024, he completed a National Research Foundation-funded three-year project on the foundational values of indigenous laws, conducting fieldwork in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
His expertise has been sought after globally. From 2022 to 2023 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Turin in Italy, teaching Law and Society in Africa. In the first half of 2023, he taught Comparative Human Rights at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, where he was also an International Fellow of the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies. His thought leadership extends to public platforms such as The Conversation, where he regularly writes about comparative Indigenous law.
Prof Diala’s election to the IACL underscores his invaluable contributions to legal scholarship and UWC’s ongoing commitment to excellence in research and education. His work not only enriches UWC’s academic landscape but also advances global conversations about the integration of Indigenous laws and state laws.
Prof Diala is currently the Director of the Centre for Legal Integration in Africa at the University of the Western Cape.
Founded in 1924 in The Hague, Netherlands, the IACL is the world’s foremost organisation for promoting comparative law. The academy fosters collaboration among leading legal scholars worldwide through its scholarly publications, including blogs, reports, and journals, and its organisation of symposia, thematic congresses, and the quadrennial International Congress of Comparative Law.
Membership is by peer nomination, a recognition of exceptional scholarship, with elections conducted by the academy’s members.
There are less than ten South Africa-based academics in the IACL, with UWC contributing nearly half of this number. Other members of the IACL from UWC are Prof Julia Sloth-Nielsen and Prof Benyam Mezmur.
Prof Diala’s research and teaching in the Department of Private Law reflect his commitment to advancing comparative indigenous law and human rights. He convenes interdisciplinary courses, including a Master of Laws (LLM) in Legal Pluralism and Family Law and the undergraduate module, Legal and Religious Pluralism.
These programmes, underpinned by a comparative law approach, position UWC as a hub for innovative legal scholarship.
Prof Diala said: “I am delighted by my election because African customary law has yet to gain significant recognition in the Global North, where legal theories remain Eurocentric. Moreover, knowledge of comparative Indigenous law is crucial in an era of unprecedented migration, technological innovation, and the use of social media. I am eager to continue my research and teaching in this field within the Centre for Legal Integration in Africa.”
Beyond the University, Prof. Diala’s impact extends across South Africa and internationally. He is the editor of the African Journal of Legal Studies and serves on the Advisory Committee on Matrimonial Property (Project 100E) of the South African Law Reform Commission. In 2024, he completed a National Research Foundation-funded three-year project on the foundational values of indigenous laws, conducting fieldwork in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
His expertise has been sought after globally. From 2022 to 2023 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Turin in Italy, teaching Law and Society in Africa. In the first half of 2023, he taught Comparative Human Rights at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, where he was also an International Fellow of the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies. His thought leadership extends to public platforms such as The Conversation, where he regularly writes about comparative Indigenous law.
Prof Diala’s election to the IACL underscores his invaluable contributions to legal scholarship and UWC’s ongoing commitment to excellence in research and education. His work not only enriches UWC’s academic landscape but also advances global conversations about the integration of Indigenous laws and state laws.
