The Extent of Reason of State in the Ethiopian Constitutional Order: The Quest for Restraining and Legitimizing
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Date
2011-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Providing institutional and procedural guarantees that could control abuse of
opportunities for derogating and restricting rights should be secured so that the
measures will remain in a constitutional paradigm to the extent it is essential to
legitimize a necessary power of reason of state discourse for the survival of the
constitutional order, in the essence of international standards, established concepts, and
relevant experience of modern constitutions. Taking this hypothesis as it should be, the
research is concerned with the analysis of the modes and extent of reason of state in the
Ethiopian constitutional order accordingly. To this end both primary and secondary data
are consulted in the research process.
The writer’s investigation of the extent and modes of reason of state in the Ethiopian
constitutional system based on the rational reason of state as it should be that will
remain in a constitutional paradigm show two major findings. While the system does not
adopt a restrained reason of state to the extent it should have guaranteed institutional
and procedural safeguards against abuse on the one hand, there exists constitutional gap
with a need to legitimize a reason of state discourse power to address a constitutional
crisis on the other hand. The constitutional gaps that quest to restrain reason of state in
the Ethiopian constitutional set up are found with a depth analysis of the state of
emergency and limitation clauses in the FDRE constitution, the political parties
registration proclamation, the anti terrorism proclamation, and the criminal code in
relation to political rights with a special emphasis on the right to political association.
And the power lacuna with a need to legitimize reason of state discourse, found in the
paper, is up on the state of emergency mode alone. The absence of constitutional
guardian in case an emergency situation arise in a care taker government regime when
the parliament is dissolved and in case the council of ministers is not in a position to
determine the state of emergency for crisis of disagreement among the members in the
existence of a situation that imperatively needs an immediate response is discovered as a
power lacuna.
Adopting institutional, procedural and constraining guidance at the constitutional level is
recommended in response to the first finding that need to restrain reason of state
discourse. And empowering the president to bring the motion to declare state of
emergency to the parliament and establishing a permanent deputation of the house to
assume the powers of the latter during its dissolution are recommended as a remedy to
fill the power lacuna with regard to the second finding.
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Providing institutional, and procedural guarantees, that could control