Central Asian Law

Beyer, Judith. “Revitalisation, Invention and Continued Existence of the Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts: Listening to Pluralistic Accounts of History.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 53 (2006): 141.

Sections: Introduction, Official Discourses on the Historical Development of the aksakal Courts, Historical Data on the Development of the aksakal Courts, Local Discourses on the Historical Development of the Institution, Conclusion

Brusina, Olga. “The Russian Experience of Reforming Nomadic Courts According to Adat in Turkestan, 1850-1900.” Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 52 (2006): 31-40.

Sections: Codification, Reform, Results

Brusina, Olga. “Sharia and Civil Law in Marital Relations of the Muslim Population in Central Asia.” Russian Social Science Review 50, no. 3 (2009): 26-41.

Sections: Marital relations in Soviet Central Asia, Post-Soviet reality

Doran, David D. “Law and Custom in Soviet Central Asia: The “Sovietization” of the Muslim Peoples.” Student papers (University of Washington School of Law)  (1989).

Sections: Introduction; History of Law, Government, and the Judiciary in Central Asia; General Jurisprudence in Pre-Revolutionary Central Asia; Sovietization of Muslim Central Asia; Islam in Soviet Central Asia Today: Structure and Organization; Conclusion

Martin, Virginia. “Barimta: Nomadic Custom, Imperial Crime.” In Russia’s Orient: Imperial Borderlands and Peoples, 1700-1917, edited by Daniel R. Brower and Edward J. Lazzerini, 249-70. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997.

Relevance:  “In this chapter, I have argued that while the practice of barimta survived by adjusting to a new colonial context, the Kazakh cultural understanding of the importance of honor, justice, and revenge remained the same. An examination of barimta shows that colonization brought new legal structures, but not necessarily new legal sensibilities, to the colonized.” (264)

Martin, Virginia. Law and Custom in the Steppe: The Kazakhs of the Middle Horde and Russian Colonialism in the Nineteenth Century. Richmond: Curzon, 2000.

Sections: Introduction Legal Culture in the Colonial Context; The Middle Horde Nomads and Colonial Rule; Nomadism and Adat; Law and Empire-Building; Settlement: Cossacks, Peasants and Nomads; Adat in Practice 1868-1898; Biys and Litigants; Land Disputes; Barimta; Conclusion

Martin, Virginia. “Kazakh Oath-Taking in Colonial Courtrooms: Legal Culture and Russian Empire-Building.” Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 5, no. 3 (Summer 2004): 483-514.

Oaths in Russian Legal Practice and Empire-Building
The Oath, Custom, and Legitimacy in the Official Biy Court
Kazakh Oath-taking on the Qur’an and Perjury in the Russian Courtroom
Conclusion

Martin, Virginia. “Kazakh Chinggisids, Land and Political Power in the Nineteenth Century: A Case Study of Syrymbet.” Central Asian Survey 29, no. 1 (2010): 79–102.

Merrell, David E. “State Engagement with Non-State Justice: How the Experience in Kyrgyzstan Can Reinforce the Need for Legitimacy in Afghanistan.” Central Asian Survey 29, no. 2 (2010): 205-17.

Sections: Introduction; Non-State Justice in Afghanistan and the Question of its Engagement with the State; State Engagement with Non-State Justice in Kyrgyzstan during Tsarist, Soviet and Post-Soviet Times; How the Experience in Kyrgyzstan Can Reinforce the Need for Legitimacy in Afghanistan; Conclusion