Which of the following is the name for the European practice whereby the eldest son inherited all of his fathers land?

Lesotho

Normes coutumières, croyances religieuses et pratiques sociales ayant une influence sur les droits fonciers différenciés selon le genre

- The codification of customary law came about after a council was appointed in 1903 to advise the British Resident Commissioner on what was best for the Basotho in terms of laws that would govern them. Until this time, the Basotho customs and laws were passed down from generation to generation through oral tradition. The council was given the task of codifying them and it came up with the Laws of Lerotholi which are applied by customary courts today (17).
- Under customary law, women are considered minors. A woman before marriage is under the guardianship of her father; upon marriage, her husband takes over guardianship from her father and upon his death, guardianship is transferred to his heir (18).
- Women acquire land rights through their husbands. In the event of divorce or separation, a woman loses her rights to her husband’s field and is expected to reincorporate herself into her parents’ production unit. Sometimes, unmarried, divorced or separated women are loaned pieces of land by their brothers or fathers to produce food. These arrangements are intended to be temporary, usually until a woman gets married or remarried. An elderly, unmarried woman may be granted a small field in her own right at the discretion of the chief or village headman to enable her to produce her own food (13).
- Under customary law, a woman cannot be divorced unless it has been proved that she is a witch (14).
- Polygamous marriage is also practised in the country (18).
- Lobola, or bride price, is a common practice (18).

Autorités traditionnelles et institutions coutumières

- Basotho or customary courts administer the customary law. They are courts of first instance for any matter involving customary law (22).

- The customary land tenure system is governed by traditional rules and administered by traditional community leaders such as chiefs. Chiefs have an administrative title, which means that their role on land matters is administrative.
They allocate land for agricultural and residential purposes to married males on the basis of their requirements, they declare pasture land reserved or open to grazing and they grant permission to individuals requiring liremo, that is, reeds, grass and trees.
Agricultural and residential land allocated to an individual is supposed to revert back to the administrative control of the chief who allocated it, if that individual leaves the area under the chief’s jurisdiction (12).

Pratiques de facto d’héritage/de succession

- Under customary law, the heir is the firstborn male child. In a polygamous marriage, the heir is the firstborn male child of the first married wife. If there is no male issue in the first house, the firstborn male child of the next married wife shall be the heir, but each house inherits property acquired and used by that household during the lifetime of the head of the family.
When the head of the family dies, the heir inherits all the immovable property in that household, including fields and buildings. The heir is required to use the property to take care of all the minors and needy members of the extended family and to discharge other family obligations, such as burying the dead and negotiating and paying lobola for all male children in that family. He is also expected to share the inheritance with his junior brothers.
If upon death of the husband the heir is under the age of majority, the widow is entrusted to use the property in consultation with the paternal uncles until the heir becomes of age. Therefore, the widow holds the property in trust for the heir and administers such property on the advice of the husband’s family. She cannot dispose of the property or lease the land without the approval and consent of the whole family (18).
- If a widow continues to reside in her deceased husband’s village and remarries, she retains life rights to the husband’s fields. Thus, the male heir has to share the land with the widow for as long as she lives (13).

- Despite the principle that land belongs to the whole nation and no one can inherit it, customary law provides for inheritance of land used for growing vegetables, tobacco, trees and residential purposes. This implies that land not available for inheritance is land used solely for agricultural purposes. The heir is entitled to inherit residential land to enable him to carry the responsibility of taking care of the minors (18).

- Girls and women are treated as minors and as such they are not regarded as competent to hold or inherit land or to make any major decisions regarding land under their control. When the eldest sons exercise their right of inheritance, the women occupying or using the inherited land are left in a dependent situation. If they are allowed to use the land, they have to use it on conditions set by the heir. There is also the possibility of them being denied access to the land. This leaves them with no security of tenure (18).

Contradictions/écarts entre les lois statutaires et coutumières

- Although under the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act of 2006, a woman is regarded as a legal major, under customary norms she is considered a minor, even after marriage. Such status restricts women from acquiring assets, obtaining credit and entering into contracts without the assistance of a man.
Furthermore, although this Act makes it possible for all citizens to acquire land, its application is restricted by the Deeds Registry Act of 1967 whereby a woman married in community of property cannot have land registered in her name (18).

- Land allocation committees still apply customary law principles in land allocation, even though they administer a statutory law, namely the Land Act of 1979. The result is that women’s land rights are not assured (18).

- Although Section 18[4][c] of the Constitution provides for freedom from all forms of discrimination, it  qualifies this right by stating that this section will not apply “in furtherance of customary law principles” (18).

Sources:  Les nombres affichés entre parenthèse (*) font référence aux sources énumérées dans la Bibliographie.

Which of the following is the name for the European practice wherein the eldest son inherited nearly all of his fathers estate?

What is the primogeniture system quizlet?

Which of the following characteristics did traditional European Mayan and Aztec civilizations of the fifteenth century hold in common?

Which of the following Renaissance era ideologies celebrated public virtue and service to the state?