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    Legal and institutional framework for movable collateral registration in Ethiopia
    (AAU, 2022-09) Abiy Mengistu; Fekadu Petros(Profess)
    Access to credit is crucial for economic growth and is the engine for private sector development. Establishing a legal and regulatory environment where movable assets can be used effectively as collateral and, at the same time provide effective credit protection, is a critical step towards responsible and inclusive access to finance. Modern secured transactions system enables individual and entities to use their movable assets as security for credit generating new productive capital, expands investments, creates more jobs opportunities, increases production and productivity, creates opportunities to expand and foster access to and usage of financial products and services. The Ethiopian Parliament thinking of this recently has enacted a modern law governing security rights in movable assets in 2019, the proclamation is supposed to be the single and unified source of the law governing the taking of security in movable assets in Ethiopia. The new legal framework also mandates the establishment of a Collateral Registry Office in charge of registering all security rights in movable assets, filed exclusively online. Undoubtedly, the new legal framework would give businesses and consumers a better opportunity to access credit at a low cost by granting security rights to creditors in a broad range of movable assets. But this law also has certain problem that may cause practical challenges and the incompatibility of the general legal frame work. To do its own humble part, this research paper will attempt to bring the issue of the newly introduced comprehensive law of security right to the spotlight, show the shortcomings of its governing rules and to assess the prevailing collateral registry system. It try to depicts legal and institutional framework for movable collateral registration in Ethiopia, mainly on focusing the exclusion security rights in an immovable assets from the reform process and having different legal regime for treatment of security interests in immovable property, the effect of attachment before judgment in determining a priority security right of creditors in Ethiopian secured transaction law legal frame work and the effectiveness of collateral registry in operation. In so doing, the research will try to show certain short coming of Ethiopian security right legal frame work. And it will try to argue the need for the reintegration of security right in immovable assets and the effect of attachment before judgment into the new comprehensive secured transaction legal frame work.
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    Participation of Third Parties in Arbitration Proceeding Under Arbitration & Conciliation Working Procedure Proclamation, Proclamation No.1237/2021
    (AAU, 2023-05) Anbiko Jarsa; Zekarias Kenea(Profesere)
    The virtue of Arbitration is consent of contacting parties in arbitration agreement. Moreover, Arbitration has privity nature. At this juncture, modern business transaction is complicated drastically and the park of arbitration requires the participation of diverse parties that didn’t not signed arbitration agreement. This is because; arbitration proceedings emanating from arbitration agreements of signatories may confront and has impact on the legal and financial interest of third parties. This calls to have some exception on the consensual and privity nature of arbitration for the sake of third parties right and interest protection. To this end, nations and international arbitral institutions set way out either by developing theories or making their laws conducive for third parties participation in arbitration proceedings. Ethiopia enacted a new Arbitration and Conciliation Working Procedure Proclamation which superficially accept third party participation in the arbitration proceedings. Nevertheless, the unanimous consent criteria from the contracting and third parties seem a four side wall that impedes participation of third parties in arbitration proceedings. Besides, under the new proclamation the provision on third party Participation failed to set specific procedure which can go with the distinctive nature of arbitral proceeding. Besides, third parties, conditions and circumstances to allow joinder and intervention of third parties aren’t clearly stipulated. This work found out that the new proclamation is inimical for third party participation in arbitration proceeding. Hence, the new proclamation should be welcoming for consented third parties so as to make arbitration effective and competent. Moreover, it should incorporate provisions for third party participation which are accustomed to the unique nature of arbitration.
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    Intersectionality and the Protection of Women with Disabilities from Sexual and Gender Based Violence in the Legal Framework of Ethiopia
    (AAU, 2023-05) Naboni Kelbesa; Sisay Alemahu(PhD)
    Women with disability are often vulnerable to intersectional marginalization in their social, economic, and political life. By the same token, WWDs face unique vulnerability to SGBV due to their intersecting identities- Gender and Disability. However, the move from a single-axis approach towards an intersectional approach by international and regional human rights instruments has been a long route. Nevertheless, a major shift towards an intersectional approach has recently been witnessed from the work of treaty bodies and human rights compliance mechanisms, which acknowledge intersectional vulnerability in general and the double marginalization of WWDs in particular. In addition to substantive human rights guarantees, several general recommendations have put directions on how an intersectional approach can be applied in protecting WWDs from SGBV. Through an intersectional lens, the paper examines the extent of the intersectional approach taken by the Ethiopian legal framework in terms of the protection of WWDs from SGBV.
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    Right to Education of Muslim Niqabi Women in Ethiopia: Analysis of the 2008 MOE Directive on Manners of Worship
    (AAU, 2023-07) Ourji Biso; Girmachew Alemu(Associate Professor)
    The 2008 MOE directive on manners of worship in educational institutions introduced a clear ban on Niqab. The Niqab one of the religious manifestations of Muslim women worn by many in Ethiopia including higher education institution was banned by the enactment of the directive and anyone wearing it was prohibited from getting all kinds of service including living on campuses of the institutions after wards. This research has questioned the constitutionality of the ban in light of the internationally guaranteed human rights of women. An analytical method is used to examine the appropriateness of the directive with human rights guaranteed constitutionally and under international human rights instruments. The FDRE Constitution, the 2008 MOE Directive, education-related laws and policies along with relevant international human rights instruments and interviews with purposively selected former students from Higher Educational institutions, have been used as primary sources. Court cases, commentaries, and publications concerning women‟s equal right to education have also been used as secondary sources. All collected data were analyzed, interpreted, and judged qualitatively based on the essential tools of legal reasoning. The directive which was controversial and questioned from its draft stage for being an obstacle to religious freedom and the right to education was proved to be the barrier to the right to education of Niqabi female students who were forced to choose between exercising freedom of religion and pursuing their right to education. This problem of the directive was a good example showing the intersectionality of women‟s human rights violation, how the prohibition of one right of women can be an obstacle to the exercise of other human rights showing human rights are interdependent and indivisible. Despite the security and secularism reasons put to necessitate the enactment of the directive the measure of all in all banning Niqab and expelling female Niqabi students otherwise was discriminatory, not necessary, and not proportional measure. Thus, the state, alongside its duty to respect and fulfill has to make the enjoyment of the right possible, by adopting laws and regulations that are adaptable to the social change taking place in Ethiopia.
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    Assessing State Responsibility to Prosecute the Perpetrators of the Massacre in Northern Ethiopia Mai Kadra’
    (AAU, 2023-05) Yemisrach Yalew; Fasil Mulatu (PhD)
    This study assessed the state's responsibility to prosecute perpetrators of the Mai Kadra massacre, which occurred in Northern Ethiopia, in November 2020. It examined the legal framework for prosecuting atrocity crimes under international law and domestic law and evaluated the response of the Ethiopian government towards such crimes, particularly the Mai Kadra massacre. This study employed a qualitative approach by deploying a purposive sampling technique conducting key informant interviews. Through examination of the Mai Kadra massacre in light of international customary law and national law, this research argues that Ethiopia has a responsibility to investigate and prosecute the criminals of mass atrocities in general and Mai kadra massacre perpetrators in particular. This study found that the existing national legal frameworks, particularly the FDRE Constitution and Criminal Code do not address atrocity crimes adequately and do not satisfy international customary laws. Additionally, the Government of Ethiopia filed charges against the perpetrators of the Mai kadra massacre for crimes against the constitution or state by rising arms or civil war while the massacre is considered as crime against humanity. It is a clear non recognition of the committed grave human rights violation in Mai Kdra town.
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    Setting the Amount of Bail under Ethiopian Federal Courts: A Case Study in Federal first Instance Court
    (AAU, 2023-06) Mulatu Gonfa; Simeneh Kiros (PHD)
    This study focuses on the determination o f the amount o f bail. To date amount o f bail has been determined by the discretion o f judges. The right to bail is recognized under International Human Rights Instruments to which Ethiopia is a member, propagates the application and determination o f bail should be similar for similar cases. The amount o f bail fixed has an effect on the attendance and non-attendance o f the suspect before court o f law. The study used both a mixed approach o f qualitative and quantitative research approach in which case observations, interviews and court case analyses were employed. Interviewees o f the senior Judges, prosecutors and Advocates with the recommendation o f their respective institutions were used. The benches in Federal First Instance courts were selected on purposive sampling because they are largest in terms o f the number o f criminal cases brought to them. The case files from the selected benches were taken on random sampling technique. Among the factors that judges take in to account in determining the amount o f bail in Federal First Instance Court are the income and conditions o f the accused, the gravity o f the crime, the counts o f the crime. Decisions on the amount o f bail for suspect/accused at Federal First Instance Court are neither predictable nor consistent as the study has found out. Judges do not give the similar weight for factors that are necessary to be considered in bail decision. They appreciate the factors that are used for determining bail amount differently and some decisions lack clarity which has resulted in differences in the decisions. Hence, the decisions on the quantum o f bail are not uniform depending on the conditions in which the suspects are in. Since there is no sufficient law or directive as to what amount to decide on bail, The current inconsistency and non-uniformity in the application o f bail right can be cured via bail schedule containing the highest and the lowest amount and discretion o f judges within it so that it ensures the very purposes o f bail. In addition the gap observed in the inconsistency of decisions requires training o f judges on bail law. In doing so, Federal First Instance Courts management shall create conducive conditions for training ofjudges on bail amount fixation.
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    The Right of Access to Justice of Victims of Medical Malpractice in Ethiopia, A study of Cases in Addis Ababa
    (AAU, 2022-12) Surafel Ejigsemahu; Getachew Assefa (PhD)
    There have been numerous accusations of medical malpractice leveled against health professionals and health institutions in Ethiopia, but most of the time those allegations failed to be addressed due to a variety of factors. This begs the question of what prevents victims of medical malpractice from seeking justice. Are the difficulties related to the regulatory regime governing medical malpractice, the litigation system, or the victims' lack of knowledge? Or are they related to establishing the fault in medical services and substantiating those claims with clear and sufficient evidence? Can these issues, if they exist, be effectively addressed? This thesis investigates the laws and practices that govern various issues of medical malpractice and their effectiveness in responding to medical malpractice claims. It attempts to trace the difficulties that victims of medical malpractice face in accessing justice and makes recommendations that are pertinent to responding to claims of medical malpractice.
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    Research Paper on ‘’ Appraisal of the AU Role in the Peaceful Resolution of Ethiopia and Sudan Border Conflict’’
    (AAU, 2022-07-02) Nahom Chane; Kalkidan Negash (PhD)
    Following the independence of African states, the continent was faced with a major challenge - the poorly demarcated and artificially drawn borders that had been imposed upon them by their former colonizers. These borders not only failed to reflect the socio-geographic realities of the continent but also served as a potent source of conflict and political instability. Border disputes in Africa have persisted for centuries and have had devastating consequences on the economic and social development of entire regions. In recognition of this issue, the African Union, shortly after its establishment, anticipated that border disputes would continue to be a major cause of conflict in the region. In response, the Cairo resolution AHG/RES 16(1) was adopted, whereby all African states pledged to respect the borders that existed upon their achievement of independence. However, the resolution did not fully succeed in preventing border conflicts, as most borders were not clearly demarcated and did not take into account the social geography of the continent. The recent border clashes between Sudan and Ethiopia serve as a painful reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by African countries in this regard. Although such conflicts are not uncommon, the direct involvement of military forces on both sides has caused alarm among international observers. The disputed area is known as al-Fashaga, where the north-west of Ethiopia's Amhara region meets Sudan's breadbasket Gedaref state. The history of border demarcation between these two nations is complex, with numerous factors contributing to the ongoing dispute. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the historical and contemporary challenges surrounding border demarcation in Africa, with a specific focus on the Sudan-Ethiopia border dispute. In doing so, we will explore the institutional and legal frameworks established by the African Union and the role they could play in facilitating peaceful resolutions to such conflicts. By shedding light on this critical issue, we hope to contribute to ongoing efforts to promote peace, stability, and development in Africa
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    The Right of Access to Justice of Victims of Medical Malpractice in Ethiopia, A study of Cases in Addis Ababa
    (AAU, 2022-12) Surafel Ejigsemahu; Getachew Assefa (PhD)
    There have been numerous accusations of medical malpractice leveled against health professionals and health institutions in Ethiopia, but most of the time those allegations failed to be addressed due to a variety of factors. This begs the question of what prevents victims of medical malpractice from seeking justice. Are the difficulties related to the regulatory regime governing medical malpractice, the litigation system, or the victims' lack of knowledge? Or are they related to establishing the fault in medical services and substantiating those claims with clear and sufficient evidence? Can these issues, if they exist, be effectively addressed? This thesis investigates the laws and practices that govern various issues of medical malpractice and their effectiveness in responding to medical malpractice claims. It attempts to trace the difficulties that victims of medical malpractice face in accessing justice and makes recommendations that are pertinent to responding to claims of medical malpractice.
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    Benefiting Local Communities Under Ethiopian Access to Genetic Resources and Benefitsharing (ABS) Laws
    (AAU, 2023-06) Demissie Girma; Biruk Haile (PhD)
    ABS laws are meant among other things to ensure that communities benefit from the use of their genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Communities can benefit in a number of ways, both monetary and non-monetary. One of the key elements of ABS in this regard is that access to genetic resources and to the associated traditional knowledge is subject to Prior Informed Consent (PIC) of a nation home to the resources and of the local communities who are the custodians of the genetic resources. This thesis is intended to assess mechanisms, procedures and practices by which ABS is implemented in Ethiopia with a view to benefiting local communities. In the case of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 482/ 2006 and Regulation No. 169/2009 were enacted to regulate ways by which genetic resources and community knowledge is accessed and community rights are protected. These legal provisions recognize the contributions made by Ethiopian local Communities’ toward the conservation, development and sustainable use of genetic resources. However, identification of specific local communities for the purpose of benefit sharing, the mechanisms to secure local communities consent in formation of ABS Agreements, Access fund administration and Distribution of Monetary Benefits among the concerned local communities are among the challenging areas in implementation of ABS laws in Ethiopia. Qualitative method was employed to collect data from ABS agreements concluded in Ethiopia and evaluation of national ABS laws was made in light of benefiting Ethiopian local communities. The results of this paper prevailed that the challenges in relation to benefiting local communities under Ethiopian ABS laws related with less involvement of stakeholders, limitations in formulation and contents of ABS agreements, and absence of clear procedure to ensure local community participation in decision making under Ethiopian ABS laws.
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    Legal and Institutional Reforms Needed for Implementation of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Ethiopia
    (AAU, 2023-07) Getinet Medina; Fekadu Petros (Assistant Professor)
    The field of international commercial arbitration has grown with remarkable speed in recent decades. It has increased dramatically as the most effective dispute settlement mechanism, and hence an important and vital tool for promoting international business and investment. Thus, conventions and treaties have been adopted, and specialized international institutions have been set up, in order to improve and facilitate the functioning of international arbitration. Arbitration is preferable, than going to court because it has a faster conflict resolution procedure, is less expensive, and gives the parties complete freedom to have the case decided by the judges of their choosing and under the basic law or legal system of their choice. The New York Convention is now being ratified by nations in an effort to uphold arbitration award and streamline global trade. Ethiopia opened a new chapter in its arbitration law when it enacted the Arbitration and Conciliation Working Procedure Proclamation Number 1237/2021. This proclamation is mainly inspired by the Model Law (1985). Ethiopia has also joined particularly the New York Convention, 1958 on the enforcement of foreign awards. To assess the practice and challenges of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Ethiopia, both legal framework and the institutional practice of Arbitration centers were analyzed by the study. And also, this paper would try to elaborate the Legal and institutional Reforms conditions for implementation of the New York Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign Arbitral Awards in Ethiopia. As a result, this thesis would be investigated the position of foreign arbitral awards in terms of recognition and enforcement in Ethiopia.
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    The Jurisdiction of Arbitration Tribunals under the New Arbitration and Conciliation, Working Procedure Proclamation No.1237/2021
    (AAU, 2023-05) Zerihun Desalegn; Fekadu Petros (Assistant Professor)
    This research examines and analyzes the competence of an arbitration tribunal in deciding on jurisdictional disputes from arbitration law of Ethiopia and international commercial arbitration rules and other countries’ commercial arbitration laws perspectives. Major international commercial arbitration rules and most national commercial arbitration laws empower arbitration tribunals to decide on arbitration jurisdictional disputes. Similarly, the new arbitration law of Ethiopia enacted in 2021 gives authority to rule on disputes arising out of the validity or existence of the arbitration agreement unlike the civil code which empowered the regular court in determining arbitration’s jurisdictional disputes. This will help prevent an ill intended party from unnecessarily delaying the proceedings by taking the case to the regular court. Furthermore, such legislative measure taken on the competence of the tribunal to have power to rule on its jurisdictional controversy will attract foreign investment and develop the sector. However, the research finds out that the new Ethiopian arbitration law lacks clarity concerning the decision of the tribunal on a dispute arising out of its jurisdiction is deemed to be an award or not. Besides, the law lacks clarity as to whether or not the objection of the party against jurisdictional decision of the tribunal is considered to be an appeal and the legal status of the decision made by the first instance court. In addition to that, our law lacks explicit provision with respect to the material jurisdiction of courts to grant interim measures. As result of this there is no consistency and predictability between and among various levels of courts in their decisions. Thus, the law should be amended with the intention of avoiding such ambiguity thereby dispelling confusion on the matter.
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    Assessing the Enforcment of the Abuse of Market Dominance Provisions of Ethiopia’s Competition Law in the Cement Market
    (AAU, 2023-07) Hanan Mohammed; Solomon Abay
    Abuse of market dominance is one of the major sources of many problems in the dynamic market in most countries. Many countries, including Ethiopia, prohibit the abuse of market dominance as part of their legal framework. The cement market in Ethiopia is characterized by high and substantially increasing prices, which affected the economy, social, and political arenas in the country. The study is bounded by an assessment of the enforcement framework of the market dominance provisions of Ethiopian TCCPP 813/2013 in the cement market. The overarching objective of this study is to assess the abuse of market dominance provisions of Ethiopian competition law in the cement market for the purpose of maintaining fair trade competition. The study answers whether the Ethiopian TCCPP abuses of market dominance provisions are effectively enforced in the cement market or not. It also addresses the legal gaps in the abuse of market dominance provisions and the practical and institutional challenges in the enforcement of abuse of market dominance in the cement market. The main actors in maintaining fair trade competition and protecting consumer rights in the cement market are the MoTRI, legislative bodies, the FDRE government, and academicians, who are recommended to take action to mitigate the prevalent problems.
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    Imagining the African Court of Justice and Human Rights along Implications for Prosecution of International Crimes in Africa
    (AAU, 2022-09) Addisu Allgaw; Alemu Meheretu (PhD)
    The establishment of the African Court of Justice and Human and People’s Rights (ACJHPR) was part of Africa’s longstanding craving to establish continental institutions that demonstrate unique African aspects, facilitate African unity and prosperity, and contribute to solving African problems of prosecution of international crimes and human rights protection through an African way. However, whether the ACJHPR, with its present structure and tri-sectional jurisdiction, would answer Africa’s aspirations has been contentions. This article analyzes the ACJHPR’s implications for the prosecution of international crimes in Africa and the protection of human rights. It identifies positive and adverse implications and expounds on how the positive aspects outweigh the negative ones. It also argues that although the ACJHPR is far from being the ideal criminal court for Africa, its gaps can be fixed. The article provides some alternatives that could be suggested to ensure that justice is well served for international criminal and human rights violations in Africa
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    Norms Governing Criminal Accountability of African Union Peacekeeping Forces in Somalia for Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Focusing on Ethiopian Troops
    (AAU, 2023-01) Yohana Solomon; Wondwossen Demissie (PhD)
    Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by peacekeepers arise in crisis and conflict settings, where systems of protection, security, and justice break down and women and girls are left particularly vulnerable. The issue of SEA by AU peacekeepers remains a problem in ever-changing regions where conflict dynamics are evolving at every moment. There needs much to be done to implement AU’s zero-tolerance policy on the ground to completely eradicate sexual exploitation and abuse caused by its peacekeepers. Likewise, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISIOM) mission has been criticized for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against Somali women and girls that is mandated to protect. There are indeed lot tones of research in this area but little is known regarding criminal accountability of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by Ethiopian troops in the AMISIOM mission particularly. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate and assess the respective responsibility of AU and troop-contributing countries to prevent SEA in the AMISOM mission and the applicable legal and policy frameworks that address SEA during peace support operations. The research reviewed reports and investigations on SEA in AMISOM mission by international and regional organizations and also evaluated legal instruments including laws, conventions, and resolutions. In addition, a semi-structured interview was conducted with Ethiopian legal advisor to the AMISIOM mission, Ethiopian military Court and Training and Education Dean. According to the study, the current legal and policy frameworks regarding SEA in peacekeeping missions remain to be insufficient where there is no comprehensive law to address sexual abuse with specific provisions for investigation, prosecution, and punishment of the perpetrator. Thus, this research recommends the Ethiopian legislative organ to ensure the appropriateness and adequacy of laws against sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping missions. In addition, the law does not govern how the Ethiopian law enforcement agencies work in cooperation with host states, the AMISOM, and its agencies in bringing suspects to justice. Therefore, Ethiopian military court shall be entitled to assume jurisdiction because violation of jus cogens elements force a states to assume jurisdiction.
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    Assessment of interface between ‘the African Continental Free Trade Area and Regional Economic Communities’ in Africa
    (AAU, 2023-07) Habtamu Wedajo; Martha B. Hailu (Assosate.Profeser)
    AU member states established the AfCFTA to unite all the African countries under a single continental market and increase intra-African trade. In order to boost trade between African states, assist sustainable economic development, and promote integration among them, the AfCFTA aims to address the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships in regional economic communities. Achieving the goal of African trade integration requires strong support from all African countries, coordination and collaboration between various economic groups, and a comprehensive legal framework to strengthen AfCFTA's relationships with REAs. Therefore, this study examines the interface between AfCFTA and RECs, analyzes the specific provisions envisaged for the governance of AfCFTA and RECs in the AfCFTA agreement, whether the current legal framework is sufficient to regulate their relationship, and the issue related to the regulation of the AfCFTA interface with regional economic communities and how the problem is addressed.
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    Constitutionality of Jurisdiction of Oromia Courts in Addis Ababa Under the Oromia Regional State Courts Proclamation No. 216/2018
    (AAU, 2022-05) Siyamir Abtie; Zeleke Temesgen (PhD)
    Federalism is the accepted form of government to Ethiopia since the 1990s. It has brought the right to self-administration to sub-national units. The constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) has given regional governments (including Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa administrations) the power to administer themselves. The power of self-administration stretches to the legislative, executive and judiciary branch of government. In exercising this right, the regional council of Oromia has enacted a proclamation to establish the courts of the region, the Oromia regional state (ORS) courts proclamation no. 216/2018. By this proclamation, the regional courts of Oromia that are to be established or organized by the regional supreme court were granted the power to entertain cases arising in Addis Ababa so long as the case involves regional interest. This proclamation, by giving such power to the regional courts, is said to have been in contradiction with the constitutionally given self-governance right of the residents and/or the government of Addis Ababa which includes establishing and administering justice organs in the city. It also seems to be against the federal courts establishment proclamations and the civil and criminal procedure laws of the country that requires courts to only take in to consideration the parties to a suit, the place of the act in question etc., but not the interest of a certain region when determining whether they have jurisdiction over a specific case or not. In this article, a look at the above considerations has led to the conclusion that the provision of the above proclamation related to the jurisdiction of Oromia Courts in Addis Ababa is unconstitutional and against the principle of federalism
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    The Socio-Economic Status of Afar under Federal Ethiopia: The Gap between Constitutional Theory of Self-Rule and Political Practice
    (AAU, 2023-06) Demillie Mollaw; Dereje Feyisa (Associate Professor)
    Federalism evolved and become an alternative system of governance in many countries. As a political arrangement federalism is appropriate to countries having multicultural societies as a means of accommodating the growing desire of people to preserve or revive the intimacy of small societies, and the growing necessity for larger combinations to mobilize the utilization of common resource better. Ethiopia witnessed a major turning point in the arena of national politics since 1991 by adopting ethnic federalism and restructuring its constituent units along ethnic lines. This political arrangement has enabled the Afar people to have their own regional state. By doing the system addressed the territorial quest of Afars for which they were politically mobilized long before the introduction of federalism in Ethiopia. When the federal system was introduced into the Ethiopian political system the peripheral areas mostly inhabited by pastoralists were categorized as Developing Regional States (Afar, SOmali, Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz) lagged behind others. To promote the shared interests and common destiny of all Ethiopians, the federal government designed a special support project with the intension of accelerating the socio-economic development of these states. This study examines the socio-economic status of Afar under federal Ethiopia by analyzing the gap between the constitutional theory of self-rule and political practice. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory research designs. Data for this study were collected through qualitative and quantitative methods with a qualitative priority complemented by the quantitative methods. The instruments used in this study include key informant interviews, observation, focus group discussions, survey questionnaire and document analysis. Both the qualitative and quantitative datasets were collected and analyzed concurrently or side-by-side. The central argument of this study is that the socio-economic transformation of Afar Regional State in the three-decade experiment is still low unable to address the problems of the Afar people. The Contributing factors which this study investigate include federal intervention contrary to the rhetorical political empowerment of Afar, capacity limitation on the part of the regional leadership, less effective implementation of the provision of the special support and insignificant contribution of investments and development projects, adverse effects of inter-clan and enter-ethnic conflicts and the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the spread of Prosopis-Juliflora.
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    The Adequacy of Ethiopian Criminal Laws in Regulating Crimes against Humanity and Implications
    (AAU, 2022-12-04) Simon Tesfaye; Wondwossen Demissie(PhD)
    CAH is one of the most atrocious international crimes which shocked the conscience of mankind. It is, thus, believed by the international community that it is necessary to prohibit the commission of such monstrous crime and prosecute as well as punish whenever and wherever it materialized. Coming to Ethiopia, there are a number of serious allegations on the commission of CAH as reported by various human rights organizations, be they domestic or international. Despite the presence of numerous accusations as to the commission of CAH here and there in the country, however, the criminal laws currently in existence in Ethiopia are not considered as containing adequate regulatory frameworks dealing with CAH. This study is, thus, primarily undertaken to assess the adequacy or otherwise of the Ethiopian criminal laws in regulating CAH and implications if the study reveals the inadequacy of the laws. To this end, the study relied on both primary and secondary data sources. The primary sources included: the FDRE Constitution, the FDRE Criminal Code and other pertinent domestic legislations as well as international instruments, interview with an official from the Ministry of Justice and relevant cases. On the other hand, the secondary sources consisted of books, journal articles, magazines, articles from the web and similar others. The researcher used qualitative research method to systematically analyze the data so collected. The findings revealed that the criminal laws did not consider CAH as a discrete offence. Nor did they define it with a required sufficiency (in a manner complying with its apposite international criminal law understanding). Instead, they unnecessarily blended it with such other crimes as genocide and war crimes. This in effect made, inter alia, prosecution of perpetrators of CAH difficult, if not impossible. Besides, it somehow compromised the goal to maintain national peace and security as well as created a problem in discharging the responsibility to protect populations from CAH. Hence, the country needs to amend these laws so that they could be able to capture the proper notion of the term in question and thus, address this and other similar concerns. Until such time that this is realized, courts can resort to CIL to fill the existing legal lacuna in this regard.
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    Challenges for a Protective Regime: Insider Trading Laws and Regulatory Framework in the Context of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange and the International Experience
    (Addis Ababa University, 2022-12) Lea Mehari; Tilahun Teshome (Professor)
    1956 saw the first ever public subscription for shares of an Ethiopian company – Ethiopian Abattoirs. However, almost sixty years later, the work to develop the Ethiopian Securities Exchange is underway, an effort that is long overdue but very much welcome. This paper examines the risk of insider trading in the Ethiopian Securities Exchange. First, it analyses the core concepts of insider trading in literature and studies the arguments for and against its prohibition. It then studies the prohibition and regulation of insider trading in five jurisdictions around the world, to be used as a doctrinal comparative analysis against which the Ethiopian system will be analyzed. Then it goes to assess insider trading laws in the Capital Markets Proclamation of Ethiopia and other relevant legislations. The paper then studies the potential challenges that make the regulation of insider trading in Ethiopia difficult and concludes by providing recommended solutions for those challenges. Regardless of the existence of a structured and organized secondary market, for the past few decades, shares of Ethiopian companies have been bought and sold in an informal securities market. As such, there are several share trading cultures practiced in the Ethiopian market that could potentially increase the risk of insider trading in Ethiopia, such as exaggerating profits and profitability in the prospectus, withholding information, or the communal Ethiopian lifestyle which could allow outsiders easy access to inside information through close-knit relationships. Additionally, the lack of adequate financial literacy and investor education among the population and the weakness of the law enforcement and judiciary when it comes to financial crimes and market abuse would likely exacerbate the risk of insider trading. The author of this paper has provided six recommendations geared at addressing the concerns of policy makers, companies themselves and the public at large with regards to insider trading, and its prohibition and regulation, in the Ethiopian Securities Exchange, possibly serving the capital market as a whole as well.