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A theory of legal apparitions: regulation and escape in Indian divorces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2023
Abstract
When people do not approach a formal court of law to settle their disputes, and cannot enter into out-of-court settlements either, what do they do? I find that people install court-like processes which mimetically follow the court procedures, executing the settlement as if the decision were rendered officially. By examining such practices in the case of divorce-related disputes in India, I advance a theory of legal apparitions, a phenomenon in which cosmetic mimicry of legal processes creates a new form of extra-legal resolution. This is likely to prevail in societies where access to justice is hindered due to socio-institutional factors and customary forms of adjudication are not possible (sometimes because of state law’s design). This idea can be used to explain a range of practices observed in South Asian societies, where people’s imagination of, and interaction with, legal apparatuses creates new forms of institutions.
- Type
- Special Issue Article
- Information
- International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 19 , Special Issue 3: ‘Law in Context’ in Post-Colonial South Asia , September 2023 , pp. 296 - 314
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press
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