Browsing by Author "Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)"

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    Constitutional and Public Laws Stream Probation Under Ethiopian Criminal Justice System The Law and Practice
    (Addis Ababa Unversity, 2018-06) Solomon Yohannes; Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)
    The study deals with the legal framework and practice of probation in the Ethiopian criminal justice system. The significance of probation has greatly enlarged and acquired substantial support in the modern criminal justice system. Probation should be allowed by means of due care. To do this, there should be conditions to be followed and institutions mandated with the duty to follow up the probationer to implement the probation. There should be responsible institution whether it is governmental, nongovernmental or mixed according to the situations of a given country. The same is true in Ethiopia because the concept of probation is incorporated in our criminal justice system in both substantive and procedural laws. Since the beginning of 19th century, many countries incorporated the concept of probation in their criminal justice system. Researches show the efforts to update the procedures and application of probation at national and international level. But in Ethiopia, decades have passed without modernizing the concept of probation although it is significant; it is being applied without systematic mechanisms. Since probation is one of the mechanisms of implementing punishment, it should be applied in light of theories of punishment, principally the reform and rehabilitation of the probationer which is recognized in the FDRE Criminal Code and integration of them into the community. The Code provides purposes, mechanisms and the effects of probation. It further emphasizes that remittance of a sentence where the probation is successfully undergone. But in practice, there is a problem of implementation of probation particularly, evaluating the behavior, supervising, controlling, assessing the outcome are missing points. Besides, although decades passed since Ethiopia enacted modern Criminal Code, there is no institutional set up that manages probation effectively. Considering these problems, discussion is made by taking international standards and trends of other countries in assumption of getting lessons from them to increase understanding of justice organs concerning the concept of probation and to identify gap filling mechanisms to practical problems, in case of non uniformity of the administration of probation. Lastly, the effects of successfully undergone probation are addressed.
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    Examining the Ethiopian Corruption Crimes Proclamation: Focus on Private Sector Regulation
    (Addis Ababa University,, 2020-06) Hussen Mohammed; Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)
    Since the drafting of the Corruption Crimes Proclamation, the rationale behind of the law has been challenged by objection in light of the private sector regulation. In this regard the major criticism has been the non-existence of administrative power in the private sector and necessity of the proclamation to the sector. This study is aimed at examining the proclamation in general to assess the scope of its application, the law-making process, and to investigate whether it is consistent with criminal law principles and international bill of rights in which Ethiopia is a party. Qualitative data gathering techniques are employed to undertake mixed research. Using purposive sampling technique, 2 drafters of the proclamation are selected for an in-depth interview, mainly to get adequate data that can enable the researcher to examine the purpose, the law-making process, and the scope of application of the proclamation. The study has revealed that there is a discrepancy between the legal rationales stated in the preamble of the proclamation to justify its purpose with that of the similarity of the corruption crimes in public and private sector, the principle of necessity and the principles of ultima ratio (criminal law as a last resort). Hence, the justifications are disproved due to the similarity of the acts and are found inconsistent with the CM Directive, the regulation of the HPR, and with accepted criminal law drafting/making process. Moreover, the law cited both AUCPCC and UNCAC to support its rationales, but they are found to be inconsistent. The study also has concluded that the HPR has enacted this proclamation without deep examination, and has failed to fulfill the governing rules of the law-making process. The purpose of the proclamation is not compatible with international criminal law principles and with the international bill of rights which Ethiopia is a party and also with the FDRE Constitution, Article 17(1).
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    Legal and Institutional Framework for Stolen Asset Recovery in Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University,, 2020-05) Endalkachew Worku; Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)
    Stolen asset recovery is the whole process of recovering illicit proceeds from all crimes and returns them to their owners. The proceeds from the perpetration of a criminal action are often transferred to other countries for laundering purposes. This hinders the government to use these assets for the benefit of the people. The restitution of the assets obtained through crime is regarded as a fundamental principle UNCAC. To have effective stolen asset recovery system countries must have strong policy, law and institution. Having strong stolen asset recovery system serve also as deterrent effect and achieve the maxim ‘crime should not pay’. This article critically examine the existing Ethiopian Stolen Asset Recovery system. Although in Ethiopia there are some laws scatteredly dealing with some element of stolen asset recovery, there are still remaining gaps that should be addressed are indicated in this article.
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    Selective Criminal Prosecution Vis a Vis Prosecutorial Discretion in Ethiopian Criminal Justice System: Theory and Practice
    (Addis Ababa University, 2017-02) Nabiyu Mikru; Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)
    The universal recognition of human rights in general and the right to equality in particular as inviolable human rights coincided with the consolidation of prosecutorial discretion in charging decisions which led to an interesting and intricate process that explores the mutual influence of these developments on each other and search for an ideal reconciliation between them. The paper set to lay bare how the right to equality before the law might be jeopardized by the unmitigated discretion given to the prosecutor to name defendants with special emphasis on the experience in Ethiopia. Chapter one tries to set the scene by exploring the concepts of prosecution, prosecutorial decision making and the right to equality. A compressive discussion is provided in an attempt to shed light on the origins and development of the concepts and the latent tension between them. Chapter two will comparatively study how selective prosecution is handled in different national jurisdictions and international tribunals. Chapter three explores the constitutionality and admissibility of the defense of selective prosecution and the problems associated with invoking and proving such claims in Ethiopian criminal justice system. Finally a conclusion and a possible recommendation to tackle the problem will be provided.
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    The Right to Legal Counsel in Ethiopia: A Case Analysis in Oromia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-08) Desalegn Gemechu; Simeneh Kiros (Associate Professor)
    The right to legal counsel in criminal justice proceedings is recognized under the FDRE constitution (Art. 20 (5)) and the revised constitution of Oromiya National Regional State (Art 20 (5)). This right is also recognized under international bill of rights such as ICCPR (Art. 14 (3) (D). The rationale behind granting this right is that, when a state and a criminal defendant confront at criminal justice proceedings, there exists certainly an inequality of arms. Because the state is powerful, as it has necessary resources, trained man power and sufficient finance to deal with the issue. But when most criminal defendants are seen relatively, they are weak, as they are ignorant of the science of the law and their rights, have no competitive resources when brought before a tribunal that has power to take their life or liberty. Moreover, disparity is observed among jurisdictions in recognition and implementation of the right to legal counsel in criminal charge. The source of this disparity is that some objective and subjective aspects of the right are stated in general terms hence exposed to interpretation. Issues as to the types of persons who need be represented by legal counsel, the types of crimes which call for the participation of legal counsel, and the stage of the criminal justice proceedings at which the right to legal counsel starts to operate need interpretation. When the way these points are interpreted and implemented in Ethiopia in general and in Oromia National Regional state in particular are analyzed, using as a bench mark the international standards and recognized good practices of certain jurisdiction, the state's provision of legal counsel for the indigent criminal defendants is narrowly defined to specific criminal cases leaving out many serious crimes out of the scope of the state's legal aid system. It is also incomplete in practice which doesn't cover all chains of criminal justice process. As a result, it is not strong enough to screen out the innocent from the real perpetrator and to protect the right to a fair trial of the accused.