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Country Background

Namibia is a country located in Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean. It is bounded by South Africa, Botswana, and Angola. The capital of Namibia is Windhook. The official language is English, but Afrikaans is the most widely spoken language. The country's population in 2017 was approximately 2.5 million. Namibia is a predominantly Christian country, with 80-90% of the population Christian and 10-20% holding traditional beliefs.

Constitution & Legal Structure

Namibia is referred to as a presidential republic, in which sovereignty belongs to the people and the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. The current Constitution of Namibia was adopted in 1990, and was most recently amended in 2010. The system of government is based on principles of separation and checks and balances and has three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Namibian legal system is characterized by legal pluralism. It is an amalgamation of Westminster-style constitutional law, Roman-Dutch common law, African customary law, and international law. Most of what constitutes the corpus of Namibian law is not codified and must be distilled from the evolving body of jurisprudence.  

Islamic law has no constitutional status in Namibia.  

Jurisdiction(s) of Islamic Law

Islamic law has no official jurisdiction of operation in Namibia. 

Dominant School of Islamic Law

Namibia has no official school of Islamic law. 

Sources of Law for Legal Research

Official Publications

• Legislative
  • Parliament consists of the National Assembly and National Council (if site is down, see archived version here)
  • Government Gazette
  • Acts and Policies
  • Legal Assistance Centre
• Executive
  • Government Portal
  • President
  • Prime Minister
• Judicial
  • Superior Courts - includes judgments of the Supreme Court and High Court

Unofficial Databases

• FAOLEX: Namibia (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) database of national laws and regulations on food, agriculture, and renewable natural resources.
• NATLEX: Namibia (International Labour Organization) database of national laws on labor, social security, and related human rights.
• RefWorld Legal Information: Namibia (UNHCR)
• WIPO Lex: Namibia (World Intellectual Property Organization)
• SAFLII Southern African Legal Information Institute: Namibia

References:

For an extended list of legal resources for this country, see the Library of Congress’s Research Guide, and for a narrative review, see the GlobaLex Foreign Law Research Guide (most updated version, where available). The Constitution is available in the LOC Guide in its original language and at Constitute in English. For full versions of past constitutions, amendments, and related legislation, see HeinOnline World Constitutions Illustrated or Oxford Constitutions of the World [subscription required for each].