The Centre For Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Law was established in 1999 to develop and co-ordinate research and publication on legal pluralism, with emphasis on customary laws, indigenous and traditional knowledge systems, and to explore constitutional, administrative and environmental laws as well as the dissemination of information on issues and policies relating to indigenous peoples and minorities.
Objectives
- To promote interdisciplinary research on legal pluralism.
- To encourage research and publication on native laws and customs, traditional dispute resolution mechanisms and protection of indigenous knowledge and biodiversity.
- Organise seminars, workshops and conferences on plural legal methods and systems.
- Organise dialogues, forums and colloquiums to discuss constitutional, administrative and environmental laws and issues relating to indigenous peoples and to raise awareness of their legal rights.
- Encourage collaboration with other disciplines, the legal profession, the Native Courts and government as well as non-governmental institutions, agencies and local communities.
Societal Impact
- Emphasis on legal pluralism explores the workings of the multijuridical system envisaged by the Federal Constitution. An understanding of the interface between written and unwritten sources of law is important to ensure equal treatment and inclusiveness, in substance as well as procedure.
- Emphasis on indigenous legal traditions and customary institutions addresses a major purpose for which the Faculty of Law was established, that is to study customary laws, which has not been given emphasis by any other law schools.
- The Centre deals with real time constitutional, administrative and human rights issues, environmental and forestry, customary tenure as well as indigenous traditional knowledge and cultural rights impacting government policies.
- Members of the Centre are invited as members of governmental and non-governmental advisory panels to contribute to national discussions and address policy issues with a view to possible law reforms.
- The Centre networks with the Malaysian Bar and other national and international institutions to increase and enhance knowledge on indigenous peoples’ issues.
- The Centre supports community advocacy work through field research and actual contacts with local indigenous communities in Peninsula Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak to disseminate knowledge and create awareness of their rights.
Bookmark this page: https://law.um.edu.my/clpil
Director of the Centre
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ramy Bulan
LLB (Hons) (Malaya), LLM (Bristol), PhD (Australia)
Centre for Legal Pluralism and Indigenous Law
Faculty of Law
Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur 50603
MALAYSIA
