SOMALILAND LEGAL SYSTEM
October 10, 2025
Lessons
1) Statute law
The first major source of law is the Legislature. Somaliland Parliament (House of Representative Plus House of Elders) is responsible for statute law formation.
2) Sharia Law
Islamic law owes its origin to the Quran, Hadith and Sunnah. Islam is based on the principle of the inseparability of religion, social, economic and political activities.
3) Customary Law – “Xeer”
Prior to the colonial era and before Islam became the dominant religion, Somaliland people were regulated by customs and traditional values and norms known as Somali Traditional Law – Xeer.
Customary laws are unwritten, yet these unwritten rules are memorized and orally transmitted by the clan elders, particularly, ‘Aqils’, and passed from a generation to its next generation.