The Victim and Customary Law: An Anthropological Study in the Folk Heritage of the Awlād ʽAlī Tribes in Egypt’s Western Desert (المجني عليه والقضاء العرفي: دراسة أنثروبولوجية في التراث الشعبي لقبائل أولاد علي بالصحراء الغربية المصرية)

Anthropologists of political systems study customary judiciary, criminal responsibility, and the rights of the victim, focusing on investigative procedures, evidence methods, denial, the formation of judicial councils, and how rulings are enforced. This comes within the framework of paying special attention to political systems in tribal societies. Such studies involve the examination of tribal customs and traditions as a general approach, which hold significant historical and theoretical importance as they reflect the transformative period experienced by these societies. These transformations succeeded in building modern tribal communities, progressing significantly, not only in the domain of “settlement of the nomads” but also in urban development, which has reached an advanced stage in some countries, referred to as “excessive urbanization.”

There is a need to document these tribal customs, traditions, and values, as they constitute behavioural patterns that remain entrenched, even though they are not integrated into any modern social, economic, or political development programs.

This research focuses on the “customary legal provisions” that regulate customary judiciary, explain the victim’s rights, and clarify the mechanisms used by tribes in Western Desert communities in Egypt. The study aims to specifically define customary judiciary systems in tribal societies, the rights of the victim, the responsibilities of the accused, and the steps involved in the investigative process in tribal councils. It also examines how evidence is provided and the extent to which the victim’s rights are upheld. This reflects many distinctive aspects of the cultural features of Arab tribal societies in contemporary times.