214BOOK REVIEWSrather than exhaustive. It is a mine of information; the entries are annotated, up-to-date and include unexpected items on a wide range of subjects other thandevelopmentNational Archives, ZimbabwePAMELA FRANCISCustomary Law in Practice By J.T. Starry. Cape Town, Juta, 1979,144pp., Z$12.00.This newest addition to the growing literature on African law projects yet anotherinteresting development on the subject Written with an entirely practical bias,the handbook can be of immense assistance to the practitioner in so far as he canpinpoint quickly the areas in which he should conduct his research.African law is a subject which is largely misunderstood or misconstrued by agreat number of people, law practitioners included. To some extent this is due tothe treatment of the subject as 'customary law5, a designation which in moderntimes is misleading and which belies its complexity. Because of the dual system oflaw which exists in this country one is in reality faced with a conflict of laws; andsimply regurgitating statutory provisions and case law, as the author does in hisopening chapter, will not provide much guidance in determining whether Africanlaw is or is not applicable to a particular set of given facts. Only the more learned, itis submitted, can make full use of this handbook, as it can be dangerous toindividuals whose background knowledge is less polished.The myriad of case law authorities quoted by the author largely fails to showthe extent to which legislation and the changing social climate have influenced thequality of decisions handed down by the courts. Indeed, some of the cases areeither inconsistent or contradictory, and this leads to a somewhat confusedimpression of what the law actually is. The author makes no effort at all tocomment on the cases which he quotesŠsome of which were in fact incorrectlydecidedŠand he merely throws them at the reader for him to sift out for himself.To the uninitiated the handbook raises more questions than answers, and one isleft wondering to what extent the Court of Appeal for African Civil Cases isbound by its own decisions, if at allThe handbook also contains certain patent errors dotted throughout Forinstance, when dealing with adultery, the author states that the common law willgovern such actions if a marriage is by Christian rites. The African Law andTribal Courts Act, Chapter 237, specifically provides for the application ofAfrican law, and this was emphatically reaffirmed by the Appellate Division ofthe High Court in 1975. Further, prescription does not apply to cases where therights sought to be enforced or obligations sought to be defended arise solely outof custom. The author quotes two cases delivered before the passing of thePrescription Act (No. 31 of 1975) in support of the contention that prescriptiondoes apply. Last, but not least, the author quotes a case which supposedly laysdown that African law governs an individual's right to sue for damages forassault; whilst, at least in theory, this may be the correct position, the case quotedby the author expressly lays down that common law is applicable, and that is whatthe law presently is. Some of the apparenterrors are, however, no doubt due to thebrevity with which the subject matter is dealtDespite such errors, however, the handbook constitutes an important step inthe professional treatment of the subject, and its publication is a welcomedevelopmentSalisburyP. MACHAYA