The first question to arise, therefore, when Dakar decided to unify the administration of justice, was whether French law should be extended to the interior. As had been the case with edu- cation, the Government General immediately rejected the assimila- tionist solution as impractical and prejudicial to the best interests of the colonized. Treaties, Roume pointed out, had been signed with African chiefs during the conquest, stipulating that African "cus- tom" would be respected throughout the federation. As a civilized nation, France was bound to honor these agreements. A fundamental principle of the new system was thus that African "customary law" would remain the common law of the federation and that French law would only apply in the cities.

Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The …, loc. 296