Institute for Peace and Security Studies

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Browsing Institute for Peace and Security Studies by Author "Hailu, Melatwork"

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    Practicing Restorative Justice in Ethiopia: The Case of Gumaa Traditional Conflict Resolution Mechanism among the Sebeta and Burayou Oromo
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-05) Hailu, Melatwork; Angoma Okello, Sunday (PhD)
    Restorative Justice System came as a new approach and way to respond to crime and developed as an alternative move towards complimenting the failure of traditional criminal law which mainly focuses on punishment. Restorative Justice (RJ), by fostering dialog among the victim, the offender and the community ultimately leads to reconciliation and restoration whereas, the Ethiopian Criminal Law from the very first inscription in Fewuse Menfessawi up to the current criminal law is highly embodied with the theory of punishing and retribution of offenders. The law takes the state as the chief victim of the crime and disregards the actual victim and the community. This shows that the concepts and notions of RJ are not primarily included or incorporated in the criminal law. Though the formal legal system fails to give enough space to restorative justice system, its principles and values are highly loaded and embodied in the traditional conflict resolution mechanisms which are widely exercised in the different parts of the country. Gumaa, as one of the institutions of conflict resolution of the Oromo people, has been practiced and widely exercised on almost equal footing with the formal legal system. As a system, it is mainly based on oral narration that passes from generation to generation and lacks inscription and structural arrangement. However, its objectives, principles and values are related and they overlap with that of RJ. Thus, this research examines the nexus, compatibility and divergence of the three criminal legal systems: Restorative Justice, Ethiopian Criminal Law and gumaa. It attempts to substantiate arguments and comparisons through their objectives, principles and values. Furthermore, the study points out how the informal legal system (Gumaa affects the formal legal system in terms of its practice and acceptance by the people at large. Based on these findings, the research shows the need for implementing a mix or a kind of hybrid criminal legal system which incorporates the existing formal and informal legal systems. Moreover, it emphasises the need for the enhancement of gumaa as it seems to be the best, most compatible and so up-to-date conflict resolution mechanism.