ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES SCHOOL OF LAW PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT AND ITS ROLE IN ENSURING CONSTITUTIONALISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER THE FDRE CONSTITUTION BY AWEL AHMED ADVISOR ATO ABERRA DEGEFA (Ass. Professor) (A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Masters of Law (LL.M) in Constitutional and Public Law) November, 2011 I www.chilot.me DECLARATION Awel Ahmed, hereby declare that this research paper is original and has never been presented in any other institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, I also declare that any information used has been duly acknowledged. Name: Signature: This dissertation has been submitted for examination with my approval as University advisor: Advisor: Ato Aberra Degefa (LLB, LLM) Signature: II www.chilot.me ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES SCHOOL OF LAW PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT AND ITS ROLE IN ENSURING CONSTITUTIONALISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER THE FDRE CONSTITUTION By: AWEL AHMED Approved by Board of Examiners Advisor _____________________________ ________________________ Signature Examiners 1.___________________________________ __________________________ Signature 2.___________________________________ ___________________________ Signature III www.chilot.me Contents ACRONYMS AND ABREVATIONS ............................................................................................. VI ACKNOWLADGEMENT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………IV ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... VIII CHAPTER ONE ...............................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................1 1.1. Background .......................................................................................................................1 1.2. Literature Review ..............................................................................................................2 1.3. Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................6 1.4. Research Questions ............................................................................................................7 1.5. Objectives of the study .......................................................................................................7 1.6. Significance of the study .....................................................................................................8 1.7. Research Methodology .......................................................................................................8 1.8. Scope and limitation of the study .......................................................................................8 1.9. Conceptual framework ......................................................................................................9 1.10. Ethical consideration ......................................................................................................9 1.11. Organization of the study ............................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................ 11 Conceptual and Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................ 11 2.1. Forms of Governments: An Overview .................................................................................. 11 2.2. Legislative- Executive Relation in Parliamentary form of government ................................. 15 2.3. The Role of the Parliament ................................................................................................... 19 2.3.1. Legislative function ........................................................................................................ 21 2.3.2. Overseeing and Informing Function ............................................................................... 23 2.3.3. Other Functions ............................................................................................................. 25 2.4. Accountability and Parliamentary Oversight ....................................................................... 28 2.5. Parliamentary Oversight vis-à-vis Constitutionalism ............................................................ 31 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................................ 36 Parliamentary Oversight ................................................................................................................ 36 3.1. Parliamentary oversight: Definition ..................................................................................... 36 3.2. The Need for Parliamentary Oversight ................................................................................. 40 IV www.chilot.me 3.3. Tools of Parliamentary Oversight ......................................................................................... 43 3.3.1. Questions ........................................................................................................................ 46 3.3.2. Debates ........................................................................................................................... 50 3.3.3. Motions .......................................................................................................................... 51 3.3.4. The Committees as a tool of Parliamentary oversight .................................................... 52 3.4. Legislative oversight over Delegated Power .......................................................................... 56 3.5. Party System and Parliamentary Oversight .......................................................................... 59 3.6. The Role of Oppositions in Parliamentary Oversight............................................................ 64 CHAPTER FOUR .......................................................................................................................... 72 Parliamentary Oversight towards Ensuring Constitutionalism and Accountability under the FDRE Constitution .................................................................................................................................... 72 4.1. The Ethiopian parliament: An Overview .............................................................................. 72 4.2. Parliamentary Oversight towards ensuring Constitutionalism and Accountability under the FDRE Constitution ..................................................................................................................... 76 4.3. The General Power of the HPR ............................................................................................ 79 4.4. The HPR and its Oversight Role ........................................................................................... 81 4.5. The Committees Structure in the House of Peoples Representatives ..................................... 87 4.6. Parliamentary Oversight and the Executive Functions ......................................................... 91 4.7. The Possible tools of Parliamentary Oversight Available to the HPR ................................... 95 4.7.1. Motion of no Confidence ................................................................................................ 99 4.8. Challenges of Effective Legislative over sight in Ethiopia ................................................... 102 4.9. External Institutions of Oversight: The Human Right Commission and Institute of Ombudsman ............................................................................................................................. 111 CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 114 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMANDATIONS ........................................................................... 114 5.1. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 114 5.2. Recommendations .............................................................................................................. 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................. I V www.chilot.me ACRONYMS AND ABREVATIONS ANC African National Congress Art. Article DCFFE Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Election EHRC Ethiopian Human Rights Commission EPRDF Ethiopian People‟s Revolutionary Democratic Front FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia HoC House of Commons HoF House of Federation HPR House of People‟s Representatives IPU International Parliamentary Union MP Member of Parliaments NA National Congress OP Opposition Parties PAC Public Account Committee PM Prime Minister Procl. Proclamation UDD Universal Declaration on Democracy UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UK United Kingdom UN United Nation US United States VI www.chilot.me ACKNOWLADGEMENT First and above all, I would like to thank the Almighty God for his help in my entire life. It is his help that gives me