Download - Abyssinia Law

IOWA LAW REVIEW
[Vol. 53
www.abyssinialaw.com
the law is administered may be more significant than the law itself. In
order for the law to have meaning and to accomplish its purposes, it
must be properly administered. The absence of a trained bench and
bar, which is an obvious feature of a developing legal system, hinders
such administration. As with the law itself, institutions and procedures
must be adapted to the needs of the country, both present and future.
In order for the rule of law to exist, it must be demonstrated that the
law can work, that rights can be enforced under the law, and that a
person will be treated fairly when he resorts to the courts. Therefore,
the question of institutions and procedures is a crucial one. Consideration
will be given to the following: (1) what will be the institutions
of the new legal system; (2) what will be the procedural law; and
(3) what persons will staff these institutions and assist in the administration
of justice.
A. The Legal Institutions
The following questions may be asked regarding legal institutions.
Should there be courts in the sense that we understand the term, and
if so, what should be their jurisdiction and the relationship between
one court and another? How many levels of courts should there be?
What other institutions, if any, should be established, and what should
be their powers?
It has been pointed out that historically in Ethiopia the law was administered
by local rulers with an ultimate appeal to the Emperor.
As the authority of the central government was consolidated, government
courts were established in the various areas of the country. As
soon as the government was functioning following the Liberation, the
government courts were reconstituted.236 The highest court was the
Supreme Imperial Court, and the Afe Negus (literally, "mouth of
the King"), a traditional judicial official, was designated as chief justice.
2 37 The Court only exercised appellate jurisdiction. There were
five lower courts: the High Court, which at that time sat only in
Addis Ababa, and a court in each of the four administrative units into
which the country was divided: Taklay Guezat (province); Awradja
(region); Woreda (commune); Mektl-Woreda (subcommune). The
original jurisdiction of each court depended on the amount in controversy
in civil cases and the authorized punishment in criminal ones. 238
236 ADDImISTRATION OF JUSIC IPROCLAATioN OF 1942, NEGARIT GAZzrA (March
30, 1942).
237 The Revised Constitution provides for the Supreme Imperial Court and such
other courts as may be authorized or established by law. ET aopi=i REVnsED
CoNsT. art. 109. This follows the pattern of the U.S. CoNST. art. I, § 2.
238The High Court had jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount in controversy
exceeded Eth. $2000 (the Ethiopian dollar is the equivalent of U.S. $0.40)