The judicial system of Ethiopia : from 'empire' and 'military junta' to 'federal democratic republic'

• Author: K.I. Vibhute
• DOI: 10.10520/EJC161848
• Published date: 01 January 2013
• Pages: 95-117
• Date: 01 January 2013

THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF ETHIOPIA:

FROM ‘EMPIRE’ AND ‘MILITARY JUNTA’

TO ‘FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC’

KI Vibhute*

ABSTRACT

Ethiopia in her journey from imperial to federal democratic republic polity has wit-

nessed different judicial systems, influenced by the prevalent strands of political

philosophy and ideology at specific times. This article not only traces the impact of

these developments on the judicial system of Ethiopia but also highlights the defects

in the structural and functional facets that have persisted in that system.

I INTRODUCTION

Ethiopia, an abode for over 82 million people of some 80 ethnic groups

with more than 250 distinct languages, is one of Africa’s largest and poorest

countries. She cherishes her uninterrupted national integrity and independ-

ence. She repulsed successfully all the outside invaders and colonial powers

lured by her strategic geographical location, climatic conditions and natural

resources. With the lasting pride, she remained to be the only non-colonised

state in Africa.

She, at different periods, experienced imperial to democratic ways of

State Governance, with spills of the Italian occupation (1936-1941) and mili-

tary junta, injected with communism (1974-1991). These systems of

governance, depending on their political philosophy and ideology and per-

ception of the ‘ruler’ and of the ‘ruled’, had, for obvious reasons, their own

notions of ‘justice’ and justice-delivery systems. These notions and

THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF ETHIOPIA 95

Professor of Law & Dean, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur (West Bengal, India); MHRD – IPR Chair Professor, Indian Institute of

Technology, Kharagpur (West Bengal, India)and E meritus Professor of Law, National Law Uni-

versity, Jodhpur (Rajasthan, India). Substantial work on the paper was done during my tenure as

Professor of Law at Addis Ababa University (AAU), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). I would like to ex-

press my sincere thanks to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive

comments and observations on an earlier draft of this article.

*

perceptions have shaped, rather than dictated, the respective legal and

judicial systems.

In 1995, ‘the Empire of Ethiopia’ was transformed by the Constitution

of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE Constitution)1to ‘the

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia’. The country has opted for the

federal2republic and democratic way of governance and polity.3In pursu-

ance of its ‘strong commitment’, inter alia, ‘to building a political

community founded on the rule of law’,4the FDRE Constitution has also

overhauled the thitherto prevailing ‘models’ of judicial system. Nevertheless,

the contemporary judicial system carved in the FDRE Constitution retains

some of the traits of the earlier judicial systems.

Against the backdrop of the constitutional ethos and the political cli-

mate that prevailed prior to the FRDE Constitution, this article endeavors to

highlight the evolutionary facets of the modern judicial system of Ethiopia.5

It also attempts to explore some pertinent historical antecedents of the mod-

ern Ethiopian judicial system. Essentially, it offers an overview of the

pre-FDRE Constitution models of the judiciary and delves into the constitu-

tional scheme and spirit of the modern judicial system in Ethiopia and

highlights some of the weaknesses that the current judicial system has

inherited from the earlier ones.

96 (2013) MLJ VOLUME 7

1 Proclamation 1 of 1995. It came into force on 21 August 1995.

2 The Ethiopian Federation is constituted by nine ethnically-based states(for l istsee articl e 47)and

two autonomous city Administrations (of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa).

3 A bilingual (Amharic and English) but the FDRE Constitution containsa couple of ‘Fundamen-

tal Principles of the Constitution’ (articles 8–12); formulates a set of ‘Policies, Principles and

Objectives’ for state governance (articles 85–92); gives a comprehensive catalogue of ‘Funda-

mental Rights and Freedoms’ (articles 13–44), and sketches constitutional anatomy of the units

of the federal polity – executive, legislative and judicial – and draws orbits of their operation and

inter-relation (articles 45–84).

4 See Preamble, para 2.

5 The modern judicial system of Ethiopia is comprised of Regular Courts, Religious Courts (Sharia

Courts and Ethiopian Orthodox Church Courts) and Customary Courts. For cultural, historical,

and traditional reasons, the FDRE Constitution not only recognises the latter two courts but also

allows them to exist along with ‘regular’ courts and to play a considerable role in the administra-

tion of justice in Ethiopia. See articles 34(5) and 78(5) of the FDRE Constitution. The Sharia

Courts have jurisdiction over Muslims (who constitute more than 40% of the Ethiopian popula-

tion) and handle disputes relating to their family and personal matters. These courts are further

streamlined by the Federal Courts of Sharia Consolidation Proclamation No 188 of 1999. It has

established the Federal First Instance Court of Sharia, the Federal High Court of Sharia,andthe

Federal Supreme Court of Sharia. The Customary Courts perform traditional tribal administra-

tion of justice functions. These courts are operative mainly in countryside areas. There also exist

Social Courts established in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peo-

ples, and Harar regions. They are established at the Kebele (community) levels in rural and urban

areas. Their number runs in thousands. The present article, however, deals merely with ‘regular

courts’. Nevertheless, it makes passing reference to other courts for thematic consistency.