Popular dispute resolution mechanisms in ethiopia accord. Ethiopia is also rich with an exceptional variety including ceremonies, festivals, celebrations, rituals, and other living expressions. After feudal governance structures and a military junta, ethiopia joined the family of democratically organized countries in the 1990s. Pdf legal pluralism in light of the federal and state constitutions. Having probed the constitutional, legal, administrative and policy frameworks which influence civic engagement in the political reform process, the report delineates three major policyori ented issues pertaining to.
Moreover, nine of ethiopia s cultural and natural heritage sites are listed on unescos world heritage site attesting to the outstanding universal value of ethiopia s heritage. Law and religion in ethiopia the evolution of a complex. All journal articles featured in the journal of legal pluralism and unofficial law vol 52 issue 1. The first written imperial constitution in 1931 the text of the constitution did not include anything concerning human rights regarding the ethiopian diverse customary norms, traditional institutions. Ethiopia, the promoters of the second view, also called the conquest approach, reordered the ethiopian polity. Law and development, and legal pluralism in ethiopia. Request pdf legal pluralism in light of the federal and state constitutions of ethiopia. A case study of the ethiopian somali regional state. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the law journals at uc hastings scholarship repository. Accordingly, the importance of local government is increasing in service provision, poverty alleviation and facilitating development. History and ideology 57 selfadministration through regional autonomy. Legal pluralism is the existence of multiple legal systems within one human population andor geographic area.
The need for legal pluralism under ethiopian criminal justice. A critical appraisal this thesis aims at analyzing the functioning and. Considerations on the codification of the civil law in african countries. Plural legal systems are particularly prevalent in former colonies, where the law of a former colonial authority may exist alongside more traditional legal systems customary law. Hybridity is used in a broad range of disciplines to define a process or institutional outcome of mixed organisational systems and practices. An examination of marriage laws in egypt, south africa, and the united states brenda oppermann follow this and additional works at. Variety of factors produce the perception of legal pluralism. Ethiopia under this approach had had little faith in any thing about law whether state or customary. Most such institutions are built on cultural rules linked to local. However, in practice there is coexistence and interaction between multiple legal orders such as state, customary, religious, project and local laws, all of which provide bases for claiming property rights.
This article aims at analyzing the functioning and implementation of legal pluralism in the multinational federal setup of ethiopia. Lessons of experience and emerging issues international institute for environment and development, london. Gadaa constitution in the context of legal pluralism. It does not claim to offer a panacea but rather shade light on the legal gaps that subordinate women. Through the study of the institutional constitutional devolution or decentralization of legislative and adjudicatory authority that is taking place in the country, elements of legal pluralism will be identified and explained. Peoples region the case of ethiopias southern nations.
Seleshi zeyohannes, constitutional law ii page 2 of 372 acknowledgments my acknowledgment goes to all those who assisted me in preparing this course on law of constitution i and ii, which i believe would be of vital value to ethiopian students and instructors of law. The following diagram summarises the position and should be memorised. It is a deeply practical paper, in many ways a paper about the responsibilities and limits of state power. Legal pluralism defined as a situation in which more than one legal system operates in a single political unit is a practical reality in a large number of countries in the world, most notably in the postcolonial states of. This thesis aims at analyzing the functioning and implementation of legal pluralism within the multinational federal setting of ethiopia. They comprise normative and descriptive perspectives, focus both on legal pluralist realities as well as public debates, and address legal pluralism in a range of different societies with varying political, institutional and historical conditions. Through its 1995 constitution, ethiopia created a devolutionary federal state structure that is devised as a means of holding together the polity. Sharia courts and human rights concerns in the light of the federal constitution of ethiopia by. Hey guys, i have the following prescribed law textbooks for sale in pdf format, each one goes for r100 if you are interested you can send me a whatsapp on this number. Legal pluralism, sharia courts, and constitutional issues in. Thus, the eprdf that assumed power in may 1991 after its protracted 17 year armed insurgency undertaken the reconstruction of the ethiopian state. This book analyzes the salient elements of legal pluralism in ethiopia, argues for redrawing the frontiers of formal legal pluralism in such a manner as to include. Legal pluralism, sharia courts and constitutional issues in. Being a home to more than 80 ethnic groups, ethiopia has to balance normative diversity with efforts to implement state law across its territory.
It does so, inter alia, by giving recognition to the settlement of disputes by customary and. Another city, dire dawa became a federal territory later by federal law although it was not designated as such in the constitution. Reflections on expanding ethiopias democratic space 7. Legal pluralism, sharia courts, constitutional standards, a handoff approach. A critical appraisal this thesis aims at analyzing the functioning and implementation of legal. He was detained incommunicado in ethiopia without access to family members, legal counsel, or united kingdom consular officials for more than six weeks. The reason for making the latter city a federal territory was the fact that it has been claimed by both the somali and oromia regional states. Legal anthropological approaches that recognize this legal pluralism are helpful in understanding this complexity. Number 62 2010 contents about the contributors text pdf the revival dilemma. Legal pluralism, sharia courts and constitutional issues in ethiopia. The legal framework regulating polygamy in ethiopia. Federalism in a context of extreme ethnic pluralism.
Preliminary observations on their impacts on the protection of human rights getachew assefa abstract through its 1995 constitution, ethiopia created a devolutionary federal state structure that. Summer 2004 international legal pluralism 967 courts and arbitral tribunals actively applying international law is far greater than it has ever been. Indicating that such conferences will be conducted annually, having themes of their own, he stated that, the theme of the conference, that is, legal pluralism, traditional justice and the role of legal actors in ethiopia is a theme which is worth exploring given ethiopia s pluralistic. Pdf legal pluralism in light of the federal and state. A critical appraisal article in ssrn electronic journal june 2004 with 1,562 reads how we measure reads. After a protracted armed struggle, the current ruling party, the ethiopian peoples. Currently, the constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia of 1995 recognises islamic law as well as jurisdiction and thus provides a legal frame in which this normative order is permitted to operate.
Special responsibilities of a host country foreword the recent political developments in ethiopia open a new chapter in the countries rich history. Introduction to the ethiopian legal system and legal research. Journal of legal pluralism and unofficial law, 33, pp. This article examines several aspects of legal pluralism focusing on the relationship between the empirical facts of pluralism and its conceptual foundations.
Fetha nagast was not codified on the basis of the objective realities existing in ethiopia lacks the systematisation and other characteristics of modern codes. After a long and devastating civil war, the military dictatorship regime that ruled ethiopia for more than seventeen years was overthrown by a coalition of liberation forces in may 1991. The first part presents a brief political and legal history of ethiopia followed by a second which offers a general theoretical framework within which the issues addressed can be discussed. The article examines in detail the interplay between customary law systems, modern notions of human rights, federalism and legal pluralism, and it considers procedural mechanisms useful for reconciling the formal ethiopian legal system and the informal ethiopian customary law systems. Legal pluralism, sharia courts and constitutional issues. In 1995, legal pluralism triumphs over legal universalism, as the 1995 fdre constitution recognizes the validity of customary and religious laws in personal and family matters. Introduction on january 6, 2009, the charities and societies proclamation no. Thus, basic features of law, sources of law in general and the sources of ethiopian law are covered. What this thesis offers is a legal analysis of the ethiopian legal framework, borrowing what is relevant from the other disciplines. Introduction to legal pluralism in south africa book. It also describes common features of pluralistic legal systems. Legal pluralism, traditional justice systems and the role of legal actors in.
Legal pluralism refers to the idea that in any one geographical space defined by the conventional boundaries of a nation state, there is more than one law or legal system. Constitutional recognition of islamic family law and. These foundations in return benefitted from the regulation and enforcement that the laws offered. One is the suggestion that us ethiopia relations would cool under the new us administration. Further more a brief amount of is dedicated to discussing the. Unlike in state courts, the consent of both disputing parties to be adjudicated in these judicial forums is a precondition. Despite their wide coverage, cdr institutions are quintessentially local serving particular groups. Defining legal pluralism legal pluralism denotes a situation where two or more legal systems coexist in the same social field. Introduction to legal pluralism in south africa by christa. A undp rule of law initiative access to justicerule of law security. Legal pluralism in light of the federal and state constitutions of ethiopia. Chapter four focuses on legal pluralism and the realization of womens rights in botswana this chapter starts by defining legal pluralism.
There, faced with capacity and legitimacy issues within the state justice and security system, the government has adopted hybrid policing within a wider embrace of legal pluralism. The third part discusses the emergence and development of legal pluralism in the country as of the early 20th century. In fact, as is obvious, the relationship between the two countries is thriving. Law was to play a role in the transition to the communist society and then was to vanish. The concept legal pluralism can be interpreted in different ways. The 1995 federal democratic republic of ethiopia fdre constitution. Some have viewed this expansion of international tribunals and the increasing frequency of international claims in national courts as indicative of the fragmentation of the international legal. Approaches to legal pluralism vary widely across the spectrum of different disciplines. Against the backdrop of the notion of legal pluralism adopted by the fdre constitution, this article examines whether final decisions rendered by sharia courts in ethiopia are required to meet constitutional standards such as the supremacy clause, gender equality and nondiscrimination. The ethiopian human rights commission and its contribution. The concept legal pluralism study chapter 1, paragraph 1.
Grassroots womens engagement in contexts of legal pluralism initiative commenced in africa. Introduction to the ethiopian legal system and legal. Mohammed abdo, phd candidate, human rights center, faculty of law, ghent university, belgium. A legal document may be a constitution, a proclamation, a regulation, a directive, a. Law and development, and legal pluralism in ethiopia undp. This article aims at explaining the problems and challenges of the application of federalism and legal pluralism in ethiopia. Through the study of the constitutional decentralization of legislative and adjudicatory authority that has been taking place in the country, elements of legal pluralism are identified and explained. Local government is crucial to develop democratic structure in federal systems by addressing the grass root society. In justice, security and policing studies, it is used to describe the interpenetration of. Its promises and pitfalls for ethiopia this article aims at analyzing the functioning and implementation of legal pluralism in the multinational federal setup of. Legal pluralism, sharia courts, and constitutional issues.
The debate and the authors conclusions that integration rather than interaction marks the essence of hybridity are illustrated by a case study from ethiopia. In sum, the general objectives of this research are. Coexistence between the formal and informal justice systems. There are more than 80 different ethnic groups in ethiopia, some of which have articulated claims for autonomy and secession. Human rights, federalism, and legal pluralism article pdf available in the american journal of comparative law 5 june 2003 with 294 reads how we measure reads. However, the war between ethiopia and eritrea from 19982000 demonstrated that secession is not a. Legal pluralism, sharia courts, constitutional standards, a handoff approach, ethiopia.
Grassroots justice in ethiopia facing the challenges of. However, these pledges were not translated into practice. He is also the editorinchief of the journal of ethiopian law established in 1964. Lessons of experience and emerging issues lorenzo cotula camilla toulmin. Law and development, and legal pluralism in ethiopia vii foreword a number of research papers were presented to the conference held on november 1517, 20 under the theme law and development. The first section explores the prevalent condition of legal pluralism in ethiopia today. Coming to ethiopia, the evolution of the discourse on democracy, human rights, and democratic institutions in the country took place at a time of significant legal and political change.