Access Concerns and Dispute Resolution within Plural Justice Systems: Administration of Justice Under Customary Law in Northeast India

Access to justice is often studied in conjunction with Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and dispute perspective studies. The paper is based on the practical application of the dispute perspective model to identify access concerns and issues in plural justice systems. It involves the application of a non-linear and fluid dispute pyramid model that encompasses adaptive implementation and monitoring, apart from the conventional model of identifying, attributing blame and asserting claims to avoid oversimplification and implementation of superficial remedial measures on complex and multifaceted societal issues. This research incorporates ethnographic observations and oral histories, substantiated by case studies, to explore inconsistencies in existing mechanisms and approaches to justice. ADR is especially significant for the case of indigenous societies in Northeast India because of three major reasons: problems in accessing formal courts, the ambiguous concept of justice in informal customary courts, and the autonomy of administration under customary law. The tribes included in the study have multiple and parallel forums for dispute resolution circumscribed by customary law. Perceptions of justice in tribal societies can be dynamic and depend not on procedural justice but on restorative justice guided by customs. This leads to the subjective connotations of justice in tribal societies, which may differ across tribes depending on what is considered just in relation to the existing norms. In a scenario where the notion of justice is contested and where multiplicities of justice exist, how does one formulate policies for equal access to justice? This question warrants a critical analysis of access to justice through the lens of intersectionality to devise alternative mechanisms for grievance redressal and resolution of disputes in tribal areas. Another major concern in customary law is its gendered implications. The study employs the ‘woman question’ to study women’s negotiation for space and access concerns for women under customary law.