States of Exception under the FDRE Constitution
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Date
2018-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The FDRE Constitution has empowered the federal and regional governments to exercise their
respective powers and functions autonomously. States establish and administer their own police
force and maintain public order and peace within their territory. Moreover, the Constitution has
included a comprehensive list of human rights. Individuals and groups enjoy such rights within
the bound of some limitations. This is true in the period of normalcy. Some odd situations,
however, dictate the government to deviate from the rules applicable in ordinary time. Therefore,
it is wise to govern such conditions in advance.
The Constitution has provided federal intervention and state of emergency as states of exception
to cope with inevitable exigencies. However, such exceptions in turn have come up with
problems on the autonomy of states and enjoyment of human rights. First, situations that require
federal intervention are not sharply delineated from the ordinary situations and are simply left to
be determined by the federal government, in many cases. Besides, the measures taken
consequently are intrusive on the autonomy of states. Second, the Constitution and subsequent
laws left gray areas that can be used as grounds for federal intervention or state of emergency.
This opens a way for the federal government to choose either of the states of exceptions to
suspend human rights or regional governments alternatively. Third, practically, problems are
escalating because the federal government is using its security forces to hush down challenges
against its legitimacy, rather than solving them peacefully. Furthermore, human rights are
suspended beyond the extent necessary to avert the exigency.
To avoid such problems, the researcher suggests that states of exception should be strictly
applied after all peaceful means resorted are found ineffective and should only target on averting
extraordinary conditions. Care should be taken not to unnecessarily subdue states’ autonomy and
human rights using states of exception as a principle
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Exception under the Fdre