Early French native court law declared civilization goals but left local enforcement to discretion

Evidence

As the I903 decree first organizing a system of native courts had shown, the Government General viewed the administration of justice as an important means of helping African society advance. Although Dakar had declared its intention to respect African customs, it had also stipulated that traditions contrary to “civilization” should be eradicated and Western principles of justice gradually introduced in their place. Having articulated these principles, however, the I903 decree proved remarkably restrained in implementing them. The dominant characteristics of that law were flexibility and minimal French intervention in the lives of their subjects. So flexible, in fact, was the system that local administrators and governors freely altered-or did not alter-custom as they saw fit, with little supervision from Dakar and with little consistency among themselves. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 410