The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Republic of Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012, when its tenure officially ended and the Federal Government of Somalia was inaugurated. Succeeding the Transitional National Government (TNG), the TFG was the second interim administration aiming to restore national institutions to Somalia after the 1991 collapse of the Siad Barre regime and the ensuing civil war. The TFG was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP). Background Legal structure of Somalia The legal structure in Somalia was divided along three lines: religious law, traditional clan law and civil law. Religious law Following the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the Islamic Courts Union was formed to address lawlessness in Somalia. The residents of Mogadishu were reportedly happy with the authority of the Islamic Courts Union's. There were fewer guns on the streets and people were able to move more freely around the city without fear of attack after they took control. By the end of 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), gained control of much of the southern part of the country. Traditional clan law Xeer is the traditional legal system of Somalia, and one of the three systems from which formal Somali law draws its inspiration, the others being civil law and Islamic law. It is believed to pre-date Islam, although it was influenced by Islam and retains the faith elements, the proceeding under rule pre-date Islam. Under this system, elders, known as the serve as mediator judges and help settle court cases, taking precedent and custom into account. Xeer is polycentric in that different groups within Somali society have different interpretations of xeer. Civil law While Somalia's formal judicial system was largely destroyed after the fall of the Siad Barre regime, it was rebuilt to be administered under different regional governments such as the autonomous Puntland and Somaliland macro-regions. In the case of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), a new judicial structure was formed through various international conferences. Despite some significant political differences between them, all of these administrations shared similar legal structures, much of which were predicated on the judicial systems of previous Somali administrations. These similarities in civil law included: A charter which affirmed