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Finally, certain admittedly desirable provisions were not adopted,
because it would be impractical or impossible to do so at the present
time. For example, the treatment of limited responsibility is "half
restrictive and half therapeutic and protective1 ° 4 A reduced punishment
is imposed, and there are provisions for treatment by which the
time spent in confinement for treatment may be deducted from the
sentence. 0 5 The drafter believed that punishment should not be imposed
at all and that there should only be internment for the deficiency
that has caused the reduced responsibility. But, as he points out, such
an approach presupposes a highly developed system of psychiatrists,
penologists, specialized judges, and special establishments that simply
cannot exist in Ethiopia in the foreseeable future.' 0 Since the facilities
for treatment are lacking, it is necessary to confine the offenders and
give them such treatment as is feasible.
The same process of adaptation was carried out in the Civil Code.
Certain changes were made to reflect the Ethiopian feeling for what
is just, a factor which cannot be ignored if the new law is ultimately
to be accepted by the people. The drafter had proposed that the spouse
be entitled to succeed, as is the case in most western countries. This
proposal was rejected, since the Ethiopians are attached to the idea
of keeping the property within the blood family. 10 7 [Vol. 53
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The spousal relationship,
on the whole, is not as strong in Ethiopia as are ties to the
blood family. Therefore, it is believed that property should not be
taken out of the blood family unless the decedent had specifically
provided so in his will. Another example occurs in the liability of
the owner of a vehicle for harm caused by any user of the vehicle.
The Civil Code makes the owner absolutely liable for such harm irrespective
of his fault or control. The theory behind the imposition
of such liability is that the owner will insure against it. This being
so, it would make no difference whether the user had stolen the vehicle,
and in the original draft no exception was made for such a situation.
It may be questioned whether all owners of vehicles would
insure against third party liability; therefore, perhaps some limitation
of liability was necessary. But according to the drafter, the most important
consideration was that the concept of a person's being made
liable for the acts of one who had stolen his property was so offensive
to the Ethiopian sense of justice that an exception had to be made,
' 0 4 See Graven, supra note 20, at 290.
105 ETIL PEN. CODE art. 137.
100Graven, supra note 20, at 290. Nor elsewhere in Africa. See Milner,
MI'Naghten and the Witch-Doctor: Psychiatry and Crime in Africa, 114 U. PA. L.
Rsv. 1134 (1966).
'107 See David, supra note 21, at 501.