Editing Lesotho (section)

===Law===
[[File:Chinese Lesotho project Lesotho Parliament II.jpg|thumb|The Parliament building in Maseru]]
The [[Constitution of Lesotho]] came into force after the publication of the Commencement Order.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC129835/#:~:text=The%20Constitution%20was%20adopted%20by,Parliament%20may%20alter%20the%20Constitution. |title=FAOLEX Database |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |website=fao.org |publisher= |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref> Constitutionally, legislation refers to laws that have been passed by both houses of parliament and have been assented to by the king (Section 78(1)). Subordinate legislation refers to laws passed by other bodies to which parliament has, by virtue of Section 70(2) of the Constitution, validly delegated such legislative powers. These include government publications, ministerial orders, ministerial regulations, and municipal [[by-laws]].

While Lesotho shares with [[South Africa]], [[Botswana]], [[Eswatini]], [[Namibia]], and [[Zimbabwe]] a mixed general legal system which resulted from the interaction between the Roman-Dutch [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] and the [[English law|English common law]]. Its general law operates independently. Lesotho applies the [[common law]], which refers to unwritten law or law from non-statutory sources, and excludes [[customary law]]. Decisions from South African courts are only persuasive, and courts refer to them in formulating their decisions. Decisions from some jurisdictions can be cited for their persuasive value. Magistrates' court decisions do not become precedent since these are lower courts. They are bound by the decisions of the High Court and the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal, the final appellate forum on all matters, has supervisory and review jurisdiction over all the courts of Lesotho.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://lesotholii.org/akn/ls/judgment/lsca/2024/31/eng@2024-11-01/source.pdf |title= IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF LESOTHO |last1= |first1= |last2= |first2= |date= |website=lesotholii.org |publisher= |access-date=23 March 2025}}</ref>

Lesotho has a dual legal system consisting of customary and general laws operating side by side.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA00104051_673 |title=The internal conflict of laws in Lesotho |access-date=2025-04-02  }}</ref> Customary law is made up of the customs of the Basotho, written and codified in the Laws of Lerotholi. The general law consists of [[Roman-Dutch law|Roman Dutch law]] imported from the Cape and the Lesotho statutes. The codification of customary law came about after a council was appointed in 1903 to advise the British Resident Commissioner on which laws would be best for governing the [[Basotho]]. Until this time, the Basotho customs and laws were passed down from generation to generation through [[oral tradition]]. The council was given the task of codifying them, and they came up with the Laws of Lerotholi which are then applied by customary courts (local courts). The written works of certain authors have persuasive value in the courts of Lesotho. These include the writings of the "old authorities as well as contemporary writers from similar jurisdictions".