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The Working of the Ethiopian Federal Judiciary

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The Working of the Ethiopian Federal Judiciary THE WORKING OF THE ETHIOPIAN FEDERAL JUDICIARY by HAILE ABRAHA MEHARI ANDREW M.GOODLIFFE, COMMITTEE CHAIR DANIEL JOYNER, CO- CHAIR WILLIAM ANDREEN BRYAN FAIR JOSEPH SMITH A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment to the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Graduate School of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2019 Copyright Halie AbrahaMehari 2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT It is more than two decades since Ethiopia has introduced a federal system. This heralded a shift from the long aged unitary, centralized judiciary to a federal system. The demand for a strong judiciary was a long standing question of the people and the nation that has not been addressed by the previous unitary regimes in Ethiopia. The demand for strong judiciary was a serious gap in the previous unitary system of Ethiopia where the people and the nation fought for decades. The study analyses how the current Ethiopian federal judicial system addresses the long standing demand of the people and the nation. To critically analyze the working of the federal Judiciary of Ethiopia, mainly qualitative and for triangulation purpose questionnaires (quantitative) methods that are relevant to the purpose are deployed. What is more, since the Ethiopian judicial federalism is in its infant stage, in order to cultivate experience, the research explores the federal and judicial experience of other federal countries such as—USA, Canada, India and other African Countries when appropriate. In this research, an intensive, in-depth and thorough analysis of the working of the federal judiciary is conducted so as to come up with findings related to constitutional, legal and policy challenges including challenges of budget, human resources, infrastructure and the major principles and challenges of coordination, cooperation as well as the problem of corruption and rent seeking including the challenge of competent leadership and good governance. The research concludes that even if there is undeniable change in the current federal judicial system when compared to the long aged unitary judicial system, still there is high demand from the people for strong judiciary. The current federal judicial system as it stands faces multitude of challenges the country needs to address. Finally, the research recommends solutions that can address the long-aged demand of the people for strong independent judiciary. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples ACHR American Convention on Human Right CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women CAT Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CRC Convention on the Right of the Child ECPHF European Convention on the Protection of Human rights and Fundamental Freedoms EBC Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation EC Ethiopian Calendar FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia FDREC Federal Democratic Republic Of Ethiopia Constitution FSCCB Federal Supreme Court Cassation Bench G.C Gregorian calendar FC Federal Courts HEMH His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie HC High Court HOPR House of Peoples Representative HOF House of Federation ICCPR International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights iii ICESCR International Covenants on Economic Social and Cultural Rights ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination I.T Information Technology JAC Judicial Administrative Council SOT State of Tigray SOA State of Amhara SOA State of Afar SSNNPE State of Southern Nations and Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia SC Supreme Court SSCCB State Supreme Court Cassation Bench SC State Courts TDR Traditional Dispute Resolution TC Transitional Charter UNDP United Nations for Development Program UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights WC Wereda Court (the lower court of each State) iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to my advisors Professor Norman Singer and Pro. Alfred, Dr. Mahummud Abdulahi for their genuine valuable guidance. I am grateful for their assistance in completion of this research. My deep gratitude also goes to Pastor Daniel Gebresselasie the president and Ato Daniel Gezahgn the vice president of Justice for All Prison Fellowship Ethiopia for their priceless assistance and moral support in the whole course of my study. My many thanks also go to my Family and the University Of Graduate School Of Alabama for arranging this program and especially for its cooperation in this hectic time because of the passing away of Prof Singer. Finally I extend my thanks to all those who assisted me in one way or another in the undertaking of this study. v CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………...xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1 1.1 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................1 1.2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................................................9 1.2.1 JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION OF FDRE IN BRIEF ..........................................................15 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................17 1.4 ORIGINALITY........................................................................................................................18 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION ........................................................................................................20 1.5.1 SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ......................................................................................................20 1.6 GENERAL OBJECTIVE.........................................................................................................21 1.6.1 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES .....................................................................................................21 1.7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES .........................................................................................23 1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................23 1.9 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY .............................................................................................24 vi 1.10 OUTLINE OF THE RESEARCH .........................................................................................25 CHAPTER 2: DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM IN ETHIOPIA ...................................26 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................26 2.2 DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISMS IN ETHIOPIA ...................................................26 2.3 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF FORMAL COURT STRUCTURE IN ETHIOPIA ....36 2.4 STRUCTURE OF COURTS DURING THE DERGE REGIME (1974-1991) G.C ...............51 2.4.1 ORGANIZATION OF COURTS UNDER THE 1987 DERGUE CONSTITUTION .........55 2.5 THE STRUCTURE OF COURTS DURING THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD ...................58 CHAPTER 3: FEDERALISM, JUDICIAL FEDERALISM AND ITS EVOLUTION OF FEDERAL IDEAS IN ETHIOPIA………………………………………………………………..62 3.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................62 3.1.1 CONCEPT OF FEDERALISM GENERAL OVERVIEW ..................................................63 3.1.2 FEDERALISM DEFINED ...................................................................................................66 3.1.3 FORMS OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS .........................................................................70 3.1.4 ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF FEDERALISM ....................................................................72 3.1.5 GROUNDS FOR NATIONS TO ADOPT FEDERALISM .................................................74 3.1.6 JUDICIAL FEDERALISM ITS CONCEPT AND DEFINITION .......................................77 vii 3.2 ORGANIZATION OF COURTS IN DIFFERENT FEDERAL COUNTRIES COMPARATIVE ……………………………………………………………………………..... 80 3.3 EVOLUTION OF FEDERAL IDEA IN ETHIOPIA ..............................................................90 3.3.1 FEDERAL IDEA IN ETHIOPIA .........................................................................................90 3.3.2 ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF ETHIOPIAN FEDERALISM .............................................94 3.4 ORGANIZATION OF COURTS IN THE ETHIOPIAN FEDERALISM ............................101 CHAPTER 4: THE WORKINGS OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY, ITS CHALLENGES AND IMPACTS ...................................................................................................................................106 4.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................106 4.2 ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGES AND IMPACTS .....................................................106 4.3 INTERNAL CHALLENGES OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY ........................................121 4.3.1 ALLOCATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF BUDGET IS THE OTHER INTERNAL CHALLENGE OF THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL STRUCTURE WHICH IS STRESSED BY THE INTERVIEWEES. ..............................................................................................................124
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