Litigating Human Rights Issues Using International Instruments before Ethiopian Courts
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Date
2008-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
A democratic government with limited power is essential to the creation of an atmosphere
<;onducive for the effective enforcement of human rights laws including international
I nstruments. One essential element of a limited government is the division of powers both
iverti cally and hori zontally. The fai lure to adhere to the pri nciple of distribution of authority is the
Ivery defi nition of tyrann y.
Th is research is attempting to find out if the allocation of authority found in the FORE
Constitution and the actual practice on the ground provide an atmosphere conducive for the
effective enforcement of human rights in general and international human rights instruments in
particular. To answer this question, this research will explore:
• the implicat ion of the current trend of centrali zation on human rights enforcement in
general and
• the negative impact of centralization on the enforcement of international human rights
instruments.
This research is qual itative, drawing mostly from a review of the literature to analyze
critica lly the effect of the constitutional di stribution of powers and the reality on the ground in
the en forcement of international human rights instruments in the country. The literature review
also helps to uncover common challenges faced in the enforcement of treaties in many countries
and discern which of them has pat1icular rel evance to the Ethiopian context. To complete the
research questionnaires are di stributed and case reviews are conducted.
The findings of the research lead to the conclusion that there is a growing trend of
centrali zation in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. As a result, vel1ically power is
still concentrated at the centre and there is no sign ifi cant separation of powers horizontally as
well. As long as the centralizing trend, both vel1ically and horizontall y, continues, the likelihood
of!he government to violate fundamental ri ghts will increase, as it is the typical inclination of all
authoritar ian governmen ts. In case of violat ions, the people are less incl ined to go to the courts,
as it is most likely that th ey do not perceive them immune from the pressures of the two branches
of government. Even if they decide to go, the coul1S are less li kely to provide justice, as they are
not fu ll y capabl e and truly independent.
Therefore, it is not only high time to end the centralized ru le; but such a move will also
be indi spensab le to endorse the protection and promotion of fun da mental ri ghts in general. Moreparticu larly, bringing th is centralization trend to a halt will surely reduce, and in time avoid,
existing challenges in the enforcement of international human rights instruments before domestic
courts.
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Keywords
Litigating Human Rights Issues