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Gypsy Law – the Non-State Normative Orders of Roma: Scholarly Debates and the Scandinavia Knowledge Chasm

Nafstad, Ida LU (2016) In Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 48(1). p.92-109
Abstract
The Rom legal culture and applied normative orders vary between different Rom communities, and are often divided into two main practices, i.e. tribunals and private solutions. The main form of tribunals is the so-called Kris, while the foremost private solution is the feud. In practice, Gypsy law can be seen as pragmatic, where any means suitable is used to resolve a conflict or to address an unwanted incident. The aims of this paper are to give an updated overview of the research on Gypsy law, to outline the main debates in the area, and to identify some important gaps in order to deepen the knowledge on Gypsy law and the relations between Rom communities and mainstream societies. The overview identifies and elaborates on three main... (More)
The Rom legal culture and applied normative orders vary between different Rom communities, and are often divided into two main practices, i.e. tribunals and private solutions. The main form of tribunals is the so-called Kris, while the foremost private solution is the feud. In practice, Gypsy law can be seen as pragmatic, where any means suitable is used to resolve a conflict or to address an unwanted incident. The aims of this paper are to give an updated overview of the research on Gypsy law, to outline the main debates in the area, and to identify some important gaps in order to deepen the knowledge on Gypsy law and the relations between Rom communities and mainstream societies. The overview identifies and elaborates on three main trends in the research on Gypsy law: (1) anthropology of Rom life and culture; (2) Gypsy law legal studies; and (3) contemporary issues in Gypsy law studies. Furthermore, the paper discusses what we know and can know about Scandinavian Gypsy law. The literature on Gypsy law in Scandinavia is almost non-existent. Legal pluralism researchers have not paid much attention neither to Gypsy law in general nor in relation to the vast amount of research on non-state law in post-colonial situations and in countries of the South. The non-state parallel legal system of Gypsy law, existing in the midst of the Western world, is getting scarce attention. It is hence of importance to direct attention to, and provide an overview of knowledge about, this non-state legal system. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law
volume
48
issue
1
pages
92 - 109
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85012118626
  • wos:000386166200006
ISSN
0732-9113
DOI
10.1080/07329113.2015.1090282
project
Romani kris - Scandinavian non-state conflict resolution in light of minority rights
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0b64d576-7961-4635-85f4-18fbdfcc585d (old id 7861319)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:38:23
date last changed
2022-03-04 21:27:57
@article{0b64d576-7961-4635-85f4-18fbdfcc585d,
  abstract     = {{The Rom legal culture and applied normative orders vary between different Rom communities, and are often divided into two main practices, i.e. tribunals and private solutions. The main form of tribunals is the so-called Kris, while the foremost private solution is the feud. In practice, Gypsy law can be seen as pragmatic, where any means suitable is used to resolve a conflict or to address an unwanted incident. The aims of this paper are to give an updated overview of the research on Gypsy law, to outline the main debates in the area, and to identify some important gaps in order to deepen the knowledge on Gypsy law and the relations between Rom communities and mainstream societies. The overview identifies and elaborates on three main trends in the research on Gypsy law: (1) anthropology of Rom life and culture; (2) Gypsy law legal studies; and (3) contemporary issues in Gypsy law studies. Furthermore, the paper discusses what we know and can know about Scandinavian Gypsy law. The literature on Gypsy law in Scandinavia is almost non-existent. Legal pluralism researchers have not paid much attention neither to Gypsy law in general nor in relation to the vast amount of research on non-state law in post-colonial situations and in countries of the South. The non-state parallel legal system of Gypsy law, existing in the midst of the Western world, is getting scarce attention. It is hence of importance to direct attention to, and provide an overview of knowledge about, this non-state legal system.}},
  author       = {{Nafstad, Ida}},
  issn         = {{0732-9113}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{92--109}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law}},
  title        = {{Gypsy Law – the Non-State Normative Orders of Roma: Scholarly Debates and the Scandinavia Knowledge Chasm}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07329113.2015.1090282}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/07329113.2015.1090282}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}