Customary courts in the central highlands under the republic of Vietnam: from abolition to reinstatement and its consequences

Abstract

This article analyzes the process of abolishing and reinstating the Customary Courts in the Central Highlands under the Republic of Vietnam, thereby clarifying the role of this institution in the governance of ethnic minority regions. The study employs a historical approach combined with archival analysis and an interdisciplinary perspective drawn from legal anthropology and theories of legal pluralism. The findings show that the abolition of the Customary Courts under the Ngô Đình Diệm administration aimed at centralizing state authority and promoting legal assimilation, whereas their reinstatement under Nguyễn Văn Thiệu represented a political concession intended to reduce ethnic tensions. Nevertheless, the Customary Courts existed only as a form of controlled autonomy, with their jurisdiction constrained by the national judicial system, reflecting the tension between the goal of legal unification and the need to preserve indigenous customary law.