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17 - Legal pluralism under the influence of globalisation: a case study of child adoption in Tanzania

from PART III - The authority and effectiveness of actors and standards

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

By
Ulrike Wanitzek
Edited by
Anne Peters ,
Lucy Koechlin ,
Till Förster  and
Gretta Fenner Zinkernagel
Anne Peters
Affiliation:
Universität Basel, Switzerland
Lucy Koechlin
Affiliation:
Universität Basel, Switzerland
Till Förster
Affiliation:
Universität Basel, Switzerland
Gretta Fenner Zinkernagel
Affiliation:
Universität Basel, Switzerland
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Summary

Introduction

Family law in Tanzania, like in many other African countries, is strongly characterised by legal pluralism. State law, customary laws and religious laws exist side by side. Under the influence of globalisation, particularly the increasing international mobility of people, processes of further legal pluralisation can be observed. This chapter analyses such pluralisation processes in cases of child adoption in Tanzania.

Under African customary laws, the role of parent is not only to be played by the child's parents but also by other relatives, such as aunts, uncles, elder siblings, or grandparents. Until recently, formal child adoption under state law was quite uncommon among Tanzanians because they did not seem to see a need for it. However, the increase in international migration and the requirements of foreign immigration laws are effecting a change. Under many immigration laws, adults are only allowed to immigrate with children who are their own, in the sense of being part of the adults' nuclear family. This would normally include children who have been formally adopted, but it would exclude children who are looked after by a relative under customary law. If such relatives wish to live and work in a foreign country, they often will only obtain the necessary visa and residence permit for the child under their care if they formalise the customary care and adopt the child under state law.

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Non-State Actors as Standard Setters , pp. 465 - 491
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

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