Somaliland Law : An Overview

Somaliland’s legal system reflects its history.  The interplay of customary law, Islamic law and initially transplanted European-based statutory laws gave Somaliland a mixed legal system in which all these three strands not only vied for supremacy at various times and in different areas of life, but also carved respective niches in which each played a dominant role. In general, five distinct periods can be ascertained:

• The pre-protectorate era, when customary and Islamic law held sway.
• The protectorate years  when the common law based  British Ordinances governed formal and state related aspects of life but customary law and Islamic law governed family matters and the much of the life of the largely nomadic communities.
• The very short period of the independent sovereign State of Somaliland, which marked a short but distinct legal stage of Somaliland’s constitutional status and transitional governmental and judicial structures.
• The period of formal legal integration with Somalia, which lasted to October 1969, which saw considerable codification of the legal system primarily on the basis of Italian civil law rather than common law.  Somaliland still enjoyed the 1960 allocation of parliamentary seats.
• The Somalian Dictatorship era 1970 to 1991, which saw the introduction of oppressive legislation passed through military/presidential decrees. There was some rolling back of  aspects of both customary law and Islamic Law, such as the abolition of Dia (blood money) and the introduction of a Family Law.   In its early years the major codification which started in the early 1960s was completed with the introduction of  a Civil Code and a Civil Procedure Code, as well as a controversial Family Law, which has since fell into disuse.
• The Somaliland Republic era which started in 1991 and has seen a resurgence of customary and Islamic laws, but also the introduction of   a constitution entrenching human rights and modern laws, specially in the area of democratisation.

 For an overview of the main aspects of Somaliland law, please see GlobaLex Research Guide to the Somaliland Legal System compiled  by Mohamed Farah Hersi LL. B, LL. M.

• Summary of the Constitutional Provisions - Ibrahim Hashi Jama (January 2012)

Somaliland: General  Information

• Somaliland in Figures 2010 (pdf file)

• Somaliland in Figures 2009 (large pdf file)

• Somaliland in Figures 2004 (large pdf file)

Official Publication of Somaliland Laws: Somalilandlaw.com welcomes the promulgation by President of  the Somaliland Republic Official Gazette Regulations 2012 which came to force on 4 January 2012. The Office of the Chief State Counsel (Garyaqaanka Guud) shall be responsible for the publishing of legislation and other official notices and the first issue covering the 2011 legislation shall be published shortly.

The issues of the Official Gazette are available at this page