1) Continue in the path TPLF designed and end up in a civil war that will never end no winner! Selassie A (2003) Ethnic Federalism: Its Promise and Pitfalls for Africa. It lacks legitimacy( legal, sociological and moral). Box. L. Rev. Mizan L. Rev. The description of the state excludes, both textually and symbolically, those Ethiopians who happen to belong to a different ethnic or linguistic group but live within the state border, regardless of how long they have called the place home. He teaches at Tulane University, U.S., where he holds the W.R. Irby Chair in Law and is the W. Ray Forrester Professor of Public and Constitutional Law. And given the rather ambiguous description of what a people or a nation is as a constitutional or even a sociological matter, many linguistic groups are likely to ask that they be recognized as a statea never ending journey to the pure community. The confusion, however, only deepens because some of the most important provisions of Article I, Section 10, may address individual rights if they are understood, as Professor Rakove notes, as federal checks on what sovereign states are allowed to do to their citizens. For instance, Bantu in Ethiopian Somali Regional State and Wolqayit in Tigray Regional State. Article 93 of the Ethiopian Constitution deals with a declaration of a state of emergency. 1. Understanding its significance depends on first placing it within the larger framework of Article I, which is primarily devoted to setting out the structure of Congress and then enumerating its legislative powers. Let it be published and well distributed in various formats and media to be readily available for all Ethiopians. The likelihood that the right to exit will be deployed by ethnonationalists to a never-ending strategic use of extortionextorting power or resourcesis very high. (Art. As an Ethiopian born from two different ethnicities, the current constitution does not recognize me as a citizen. Meanwhile millions of Ethiopians have lived in poverty, toiling day in day out without even the guarantee to their precious lives, a natural, inalienable right. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Art. We need to make it the constitution of the Ethiopian People. Article 10 State and religion are separate. This Constitution is an expression of their sovereignty. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. Box. Other principal embassy officials are listed in the Departments Key Officers List. L.J. Proclamation No. Ethiopia has gone through a long period of significant transition over the past several decades, resulting in the adoption of the Ethiopian Constitution in December 1994, which entered into force in August 1995, and a revised penal code in 2004. The level of forces that some of the states have developed and at times display with great fanfare seem to show that these are mini-countries (at least they view themselves as such) that are preparing to defend themselves not from an external threat but from other mini-countries that are constituent parts of a federal system. The Yale journal of International Law 28: 51107. Article 2. Fukuyama F (1992) The End of History and the Last Man. There has never been such a thing in Ethiopia, ever. It allows the admission of official intelligence reports without disclosing the source of the information or how it was gathered which effectively allows evidence obtained under torture to be used. in Ethiopia?? And the notion of having only Amharic language and Amhara culture unacceptable in todays Ethiopia. 44, James Madison denounced states sudden changes and legislative interferences in the business affairs of their citizens, even for transactions that take place wholly within one state. 1. - Further international agreements ratified by Ethiopia are an integral part of the law of the land and the fundamental rights and freedoms specified in the Constitution are to be interpreted in a manner conforming to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenants on Human Rights and international instruments adopted by Ethiopia. One commentator has noted that [t]he most important justification by far for subnational constitutionalism is the benefit it confers in the protection of human rights. This person is out of reach. Author June 30, 2019 What are the basic principles of Ethiopian constitution? It was a fake experiment. Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (2009). 28 2: 185214. 4. The constitution came into force on 21 August 1995 after it was drawn up by the Constituent Assembly that was elected in June 1994. This article examines the relationship between party politics and the implementation of the constitutional right of secession in the federal system of Ethiopia. It was adopted by the Transitional Government of Ethiopia on 8 December 1994 and came into force following the general election held in May-June 1995. 1. 4. Hence the Court read in a just compensation exception that brought the Contracts Clause closer to the Takings Clause, again by a process of textual implication. Ethiopias ethnic Federalism is solution for ethnic problems/oppressions during last 177 years that denied other citizens/ethnics any rights on their own land but subjects. Download: 8721 times. nationals who were concerned at the time about the future of their country.Friends of Ethiopia were also at the point of losing hope about Ethiopias destiny.Those of us who had witnessed the last days of the Derg regime and the absolute disarray and hopelessness within the government, could not have missed the need for a change in the ruling formula of the state with the view to holding the country together.One did not need to be smart to realize that Ethiopia needed to be organized on a new basis, something that even the Derg had at one point made an attempt to move in that direction.No doubt, that was unrealistic and a half-hearted attempt by the Derg made out of desperation .In any case, that was also the wish of the victors for whom the Derg created the opportunity for them to take the lead in crafting the new Constitution. Any person of either sex shall be an Ethiopian national where both or either parent is Ethiopian. There are only five other constitutions in force in the world which refer to a right of secession. As mentioned by many commentators, it did not even have the foresight and political maturity to protect the rights of Ethiopians born from more than one ethnic group. Habtu A (2004) Ethnic Pluralism as an Organizing Principle of the Ethiopian Federation. Hence, we want to democratise the multinational federation and ensure self rule abd shared rule. The influence of natural rights theory is evident in many state constitutions, like the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, whose explicit purpose is to form a stable order to protect the natural rights of its members. At this point, there is little distinctive left to the Contracts Clause, which is unwisely swallowed up by the general presumption in favor of all economic regulations. Challenges on Ethiopia's Federalism. Those activities occupy Sections 1 through 8. Proclamation No. Google Scholar. Similarly it allows for the admissibility of confessions without prohibiting the use of confessions made under torture. Article 20/5 of the antiterrorism proclamation also allows that [i]f a terrorism charge is filed in accordance with this Proclamation, the court shall order the suspect to be remanded for trial until the court hears and gives decision on the case. While the proclamation relates to terrorism, the law has been applied in a significantly broader manner than might be expected from its title. The diminution of the sovereignty of the states was a topic that the Framers of the Constitution had considered in 1787. Indeed, not only India and Nigeria not have a secession clause in their constitutions, but unlike the opening phrase of the Ethiopian Constitution, their preambles being with We, the People not Peoples.. One interpretive challenge asks which elements mentioned in the Northwest Ordinance carry over to the slimmed-down Contracts Clause, evidently written in more categorical terms. And now you have the audacity to come here and complain how people failed to implement the crappy constitution? Link couldn't be copied to clipboard! Ethiopia has so many Nations and Nationalities. Choudhry S (2012) Group Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law: Culture, Economics, or Political Power? Article 39(2) of the Constitution provides that every nation, nationality, and people has the right to speak, to write and to develop its own language. This is a provision with which I am wholly in accord. 267 (1988). 4. Let us be frank.The current Ethiopian Constitution is not a result of mere theoretical and legal debate among Ethiopian politicians.It is largely a result of a prolonged struggle in the course of which much blood was shed and sacrifices made.It would not be honest to deny this as it would not to doubt that the Constitution bears the imprint of the victors. No one may be deprived of his freedom except for reasons and conditions previously laid down by law. Any person of either sex shall be an Ethiopian national where both or either parent is Ethiopian. DISCLAIMER: The content on this site is offered only as a public service and does not constitute legal advice. Survival of Ethiopia also depends on recognition of equal rights of ethnic and religious identities. But identity will have a dominant (and a legally sanctioned) role if a country has organized itself along the lines that Ethiopia has. The Economist Intelligence Unit (2016) Democracy in an age of anxiety. 6: 358381. The Ethiopian Constitution is an expression of Several of the people who were brutally murdered and those who were lucky enough to survive but were displaced following the murder of Hachalu Hundessa were told repeatedly that they did not belong there, even if they were born there and that is the only place they knew and called home. The territorial conflicts among regions are greater than the territorial disputes that Ethiopia has with other countries. The constitutional amendment process provided for in Article 105 essentially locks out the Ethiopian people as a whole from having any say on the question of whether a particular state (people) should secede from the federation. First of all, this piece does not reflect the Ethiopian reality, not useful at all if the intention is to contribute to the future of Ethiopia. But the idea that the states remained sovereign entities, in the traditional meaning of the term, no longer made any sense. So, man-up and swallow this bitter pill. Accessed 29 May 2017. Published under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Internationallicence. Law. Article 10:Human and Democratic Rights . Journal of Ethiopian Law 24: 139169. Article 10 Human and Democratic Rights 1. Does it even deserve to be considered a Constitution to begin with? Bad laws are the worst form of tyranny. 3. Samuel Thank you. Thanks for taking the time to write such an enlightening piece. The material contained on this site is in beta form. The only thing he stated in his writing is right from the book and tried to compare the incomparable. Fombad C (2011) Constitutional Reforms and Constitutionalism in Africa: Reflections on Some Current Challenges and Future Prospects. 3. The Ethiopian National Human Rights Plan 2013-2015, though an aspirational rather than a legal document, clearly expresses the Ethiopian governments commitment to uphold the human rights of all individuals and abide by international norms. Fordham Int'l L.J. It lacks legitimacy. Hence any public servant, who, contrary to law or in disregard of the forms and safeguards prescribed by law, arrests, detains or otherwise deprives another of his freedom, is subject to punishment. The Federal Police Commission Establishment Proclamation of 2011 also prohibits the use of inhumane or degrading treatment or act by federal police officials. Article 39 will intensify, not reduce, differences among the constituent parts of the federation. The plan affirms the following with respect to the Rights of Persons Arrested, Persons Held in Custody and Convicted Prisoners: The FDRE Constitution provides the following rights for arrested persons; persons held in custody and convicted persons. 1 1: 132. Human and democratic rights of peoples and citizens shall be respected. The Amhara State Constitution likewise declares that human rights and freedoms, emanating from the nature of mankind, are inviolable and inalienable. The Ethiopian Flag 1. There shall be no state religion. 160 Hawassa: Tel. The current Ethiopian constitution is designed to disintegrate the country into small pieces. The individual criminal element, thief and murderer hides in his or her group evading individual accountability before the law. The constitution clearly provides that territorially the Ethiopian State is structured into only nine regional states. In practice, however, significant effort may be needed in order to ensure these rights are respected. DISCLAIMER: We are constantly working to improve the content on this site. But the constitutional incentives seem to be organized in a way that will encourage precisely the opposite. The JFA-PFE played a positive role in improving prisoners chances for clemency. JFA-PFE also ran model prisons in Adama and Mekele, with significantly better conditions than those found in other prisons. Justice For All Prison Fellowship Ethiopia P.O. 19/5/ The right to be released on bail /Art 19/6/. Article 39: Rights of Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples1. The Constitution has a birth defect . Human Rights Quarterly 21 1: 80107. Very sad! I am not Ethiopian, however, and I have no position regarding the countrys historical battles (political or otherwise) as I dont have any particular expertise in that field. Political communities can sustain themselves over a long period of time only if there is shared understanding among members. It performs several functions. Article 19 enshrines the following provisions regarding arrest and detention: Article 9 of the Ethiopian constitution incorporates [a]ll international agreements ratified by Ethiopia [as] an integral part of the laws of the country. Ethiopia is a party (either ratification or accession) to numerous international agreements regarding human rights and pretrial detention including: According to Human Rights Watch, [a]lthough international law does not impose specific limits on the length of time a person may be held before being charged, requiring that it be done promptly, any prolonged period would be contrary to human rights standards. They have plenty of issues among them as a result of which they are dragging the country to nose dive into the abyss. Third, they list the principles and purposes that the Constitution is meant to embody and advance. For nearly 50 years, Ethiopians have been the guinea pigs for the political laboratory experiments of the self appointed liberators who change their colors like chameleons, organizing themselves as groups first coming as derg military, ethnic group liberators TPLF, OLF, etc. 1) Are you here to defend the current Ethiopian constitution that disowned Ethiopians born from parents of different ethnicities? The 10 days long AU-led Ethiopia's peace talks concluded on Wednesday when both sides signed an agreement to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia and uphold the . That famous word never appears in the text of the Constitution, although it had been part of the Articles of Confederation. Instead of a single regime of rights protection implemented at the national level, subnational constitutionalism allows for the creation of a second, and to some degree competing, regime of rights protection at the subnational level. At the same time, however, there is ambiguity with regard to the role of courts to enforce constitutional human rights because interpretive power is divided between courts and the House of the Federation, which has played a role in the diminished implementation of human rights in Ethiopia. Human rights are gr document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We know back 2000 years who was where. It wont happen easily if not wishing the nation for disintegration. If that war comes again, the economic and the hate drive this time will not have any mercy on smaller tribes. The constitution to be amended by prohibiting ethnic-based party that will be a great achievement; Regional government constitution be aligned with Federal Constitution; Remove article 39 the right to secession article which is empty words with no defined territories provided in the constitution. In some instances, U.S. citizens have been detained for weeks or even months without Embassy notification. It is no accident that some activists, even prominent political actors, openly talk about the danger to the purity project of inter-ethnic marriage and of speaking languages other than ones own within ones community. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, also known as the 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, is the supreme law of Ethiopia. The comments and opinions expressed on this site are of the individual author and do not reflect the opinions of a law firm with which the author may be affiliated. Article 10 Human and Democratic Rights. The three colors shall be set horizontally in equal dimension. Case closed. Routledge, New York, pp 920. At James Madisons insistence, the Virginia Plan included a clause authorizing the national legislature to negative (or veto) state laws contravening . It then allocates power within the particular systemwho legislates, who adjudicates, and who enforces. Ethnopolitics 16 3: 232245. It is time to recognise language pluralism. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-017-0471-5, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-017-0471-5. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 also raises more specific interpretive difficulties. As more nations and nationalities seek, nay demand, and attain legal recognition as states, the occasions for more, and more intensified, politics of difference increases. Now labor and capital cannot move freely among regions in Ethiopia. Thank you and hope others could learn why majority of regions/people wanted inclusive and democratic multinational federation. Ethiopia should have either a genuine federal system or disintegration. The Ethiopian Constitution has the following basic principles: The sovereignty of the people; The supremacy of the Constitution; The respect of human and democratic rights; The separation of state and religion; ment. By Mohamed Kheir Omer, a researcher and writer based in Oslo, Norway. The problem of the article stems from believing Ethiopia is a nation state. Walker G (1997) The Idea of Non-liberal Constitutionalism. Article 11 Separation of State and Religion. The national emblem on the flag shall reflect the hope of the Nations, Nationalities, Peoples as well as religious communities of Ethiopia to live . Diamond L (2009) The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World. 2. The constitutions can be accessed at
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