摘要：Armed conflict is particularly destructive to socio-legal relations regarding land and
property. Reconstruction priorities increasingly include the reform of property legislation
as part of efforts to address the causes and reasons for continuation of conflicts. However,
a pervasive problem is that postwar laws are extremely difficult to connect with informal
on-the-ground developments regarding perceptions of spatially-based rights as
populations pursue livelihoods, grievances and aspirations. Left unattended, the problem
constitutes a potential flashpoint for a return to conflict. This article examines this
connection for postwar Sierra Leone, in order to highlight issues and questions of potential
utility. The stakes are high for successfully connecting postwar land tenure laws with
informal socio-legal realities. For Sierra Leone, a primary issue is the presence of a large
population without access to land, tenure insecurity discouraging investment, large-scale
food insecurity and rural unemployment while significant swathes of arable and previously
cultivated land stands idle.
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