Xeer Legal System

Since the collapse of the central government in 1991, Somalia has widely been recognized a chaotic country devoid of laws and regulations. Somalia is run by about 100 competing clans and to date there has been no plan of instating a central government or building a formal state. Due to the strong influence of Islam, Sharia law has had a great deal of impact on Somalian culture. Sharia law refers to the way that a Muslim should act and the way that they should live. Most of the Somalian population is Muslim, therefore you can find many Islamic laws being upheld in Somalia. For example, many women choose to cover their body and their head while they are in public. They wear a hijab, which only allows their face and hands to be seen. Also, pork is left out of Somalian dishes and the diet of most Somalian people. Islamic law prohibits Somalians from taking part in gambling and they do not drink alcohol. Sharia laws deal with business, economics, politics, family and sexuality, as well as other areas of life. Although Sharia law plays an important role in Somalian culture, the people of Somalia place a greater deal of importance on traditional law and customs. They follow a legal system known as Xeer, which is very unlike the legal system in any developed nation.

Xeer is a great example of the way in which a stateless society uses customary law. In Somalia there is no formal law system. Therefore, criminals who break laws are not punished with incarceration or fines. Within this system clan elders appoint judges that mediate problems and arguments. Crime and law are understood in terms of property rights. Instead Somalians implement a system of compensation. A criminal is expected to compensate a victim and fines are paid to individuals and not to the government. For example, the compensation for the death of a daughter is fifty camels. In order to make sure that an individual can compensate victims for any wrong doing that they may commit every individual must be insured. In Somalia this means that if a person is unable to pay the compensation that they owe then one of the criminal’s family must pay the compensation. They family will then insure that the criminal does not commit the crime again. In developed countries controlling criminals is the duty of the government, in Somalia it is the duty of the family. If the family has to continue to bail out a family member they can choose to disown them and the criminal then is termed an outlaw. Outlaws must leave the country because they are no longer under the protection of any laws. In Somalia there is no authority that states what the law should be. Instead, if there is a problem, the criminal and the victim will gather in front of the judges, or the individuals appointed by the elders, and they will figure out the best resolution for the dispute. Like all legal systems Xeer requires specialists in different area. Police officers a called waranle, attorneys are called garxajiyaal, and judges are called odayal.