Using law to operate social changes and overcome poverty: The case of Mozambique

In the aftermath of the 1994 elections, Mozambique has turned to the challenges of consolidating its multiparty democracy and bringing about good governance. This dissertation focuses on the role played by jurists as bill drafters and advisors to the Cabinet and the Assembly of the Republic in justifying and writing laws and regulations in Mozambique. Although many of these laws were intended to transform problematic social relations, some of which perpetuate poverty, they have generally proven ineffective. The study demonstrates that bill drafters have become a causal factor in the formulation of ineffective laws. Because of their legal background---a form of training that emphasizes the acquisition of abilities for court-centered activities---the drafters lack the skills required to translate intended policy goals into bills with a potential to affect behaviors.; Based on evidence from four cases, the dissertation assesses three theories of the relevance of law to the dynamics of social transformations: the neo-patrimonial, the deliberative democracy, and the institutionalist-legislative theory.; It reveals the inadequacy of the neo-patrimonial theory by showing that drafters have exhibited independent behaviors that shape the substance of laws and regulations. More than a commitment to the elected elite's personal ends, as the neo-patrimonial theory would suggest, drafters' limited knowledge and assumptions about law's potential have led them to draft and recommend legislation and regulatory instruments that proved unimplementable. With respect to the deliberative democracy theory, the study shows that the drafting process has afforded some opportunity for drafters to engage the public in eliciting inputs with a view to shape the substance of draft bills. However, the process denies the public both (i) adequate prior information about a draft bill's background policies, and (ii) knowledge about drafters' justification for rejection of some inputs. In Mozambique, the bill drafting process falls short of the ideals of deliberative democracy. Finally, with insights drawn from the institutionalist-legislative theory, the study also reveals that as a pattern of behavior, drafters' inherited doctrinal reasoning defies attempts at change. Accordingly, the study makes policy recommendations aimed to improve Mozambique's bill-making process.