ABSTRACT

Like many other African countries, Burundi has a pluralistic legal system, where on the one hand written laws coexist with uncodified customary laws and on the other hand informal justice institutions are still used in the day-to-day conflict resolution by many Burundians despite a provision in the Constitution that makes the mission of rendering justice the monopoly of the state courts. Both before the state courts and out-of-court forums for adjudicating disputes and justice mechanisms, women face challenges that limit their access to justice, compared to men. This paper argues three main points. First, that while there is a relationship between women’s limited access to justice and the pluralistic nature of Burundi’s legal system, the challenges faced by women in accessing justice should not be excessively associated with legal pluralism, thus hiding the impact of extra-legal factors. Second, that while Burundi’s constitutional framework is progressive with respect to gender equality and most laws are gender neutral, some shortcomings still exist in the overall legal framework, thus limiting the potential of the constitutional legal framework with respect to gender equality. Third, that by increasing gender diversity in the judiciary, and with much more positive activism and training, Burundian judges could ensure equal access to justice for women by using the potential of existing national and international legal frameworks.

摘要

与许多其他非洲国家一样，布隆迪拥有多元化的法律体系，一方面，成文法与未成文的习惯法并存，另一方面，许多布隆迪人在日常冲突解决中仍使用非正式司法机构，尽管宪法中的规定使伸张正义的使命成为州法院的垄断。与男性相比，在州法院和法庭外裁决纠纷和司法机制的论坛上，女性面临的挑战限制了她们诉诸司法的机会。本文主要论证三个观点。首先，虽然妇女诉诸司法的机会有限与布隆迪法律制度的多元化性质之间存在关系，但妇女在诉诸司法方面面临的挑战不应与法律多元化过度相关，从而掩盖了法外因素的影响。其次，虽然布隆迪的宪法框架在性别平等方面是进步的，而且大多数法律是性别中立的，但总体法律框架仍然存在一些缺陷，从而限制了宪法法律框架在性别平等方面的潜力。第三，通过增加司法部门的性别多样性，以及更加积极的行动主义和培训，布隆迪法官可以利用现有国家和国际法律框架的潜力，确保妇女平等诉诸司法。从而限制了宪法法律框架在性别平等方面的潜力。第三，通过增加司法部门的性别多样性，以及更加积极的行动主义和培训，布隆迪法官可以利用现有国家和国际法律框架的潜力，确保妇女平等诉诸司法。从而限制了宪法法律框架在性别平等方面的潜力。第三，通过增加司法部门的性别多样性，以及更加积极的行动主义和培训，布隆迪法官可以利用现有国家和国际法律框架的潜力，确保妇女平等诉诸司法。