On 22th October 2019, the ABI welcomed Prof. Dr. Raymond Atuguba, currently Dean of the Law Faculty at the University of Ghana, and Dr. Sena Dei-Tutu, also a law scholar from the University of Ghana.
In his lecture Atuguba explained legal pluralism in Africa using the example of Ghana. Accordingly, seven different types of law coexist in Ghana, which can also contradict each other, as he illustrated with practical examples. Under international law, for example, a gift within the framework of a court case is corruption. According to Ghanaian law, which is applied in everyday life and above all in the rural region of Ghana, i.e. applies to approx. 85 percent of the population, a gift is a prerequisite for being able to place a claim successfully in court.
The inspiring lecture by Atuguba was followed by a lively discussion with his numerous listeners. In addition, Andreas Mehler, Dr. Moritz Hennemann (Faculty of Law, University of Freiburg) and Annika Hampel had the opportunity to identify with the two Ghanaian colleagues future cooperation possibilities, such as an exchange of students between the University of Ghana and the University of Freiburg or the cooperation of the law faculties in the research topics of the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA). MIASA is an international research center at the University of Ghana in Legon (Accra). The Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI) is involved in establishing and shaping MIASA.