Complete Book PDF (4.12MB) - World Bank eLibrary

Justice Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 201
disciplining judges (Tesfaye 2004, 99). Up to the early 1970s, the emperor
appointed judges (with advice from the minister of justice).
Until a law school was established in Addis Ababa (in the mid-1960s),
most judges were not lawyers but rather “members of the clergy or persons
well versed in the canon law of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church” (Tesfaye
2004, 105). In 1973, on the eve of the Derg revolution, a Judicial Commission
was created to screen candidates for the emperor’s approval.
Until the 1942 creation of the Office of Public Prosecution, most
prosecution was private (by the victim or his or her relatives). The new
office was located in the Ministry of Justice, and the minister appointed
all prosecutors except the advocate general and his deputy; the emperor
appointed both. The first advocates general were foreigners; an Ethiopian
did not hold this position until 1961. Until the late 1960s, most prosecutors
were police officers because of the shortage of trained lawyers.
Police. Ethiopia’s police force evolved gradually, with considerable foreign
influence from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Following the expulsion
of the Italians, a national force began to take shape and by 1971 had
reached 28,467—which, for a population of about 27.4 million (Tesfaye
2004, 23)—is a higher police-population ratio than the country has today.
Under the Derg (1974–1991), the organization of the police force was
not much affected. However, because of the Derg’s reliance on the army,
the number of police actually on duty (as opposed to in official positions)
dropped considerably (to 8,039 by 1981–82) and rose again only toward
the end of the decade (to 17,773) but still without reaching the levels of
the pre-Derg period.
The Derg and Transitional Governments. The Office of the Procurator
(prosecutor) General, while remaining in the Ministry of Justice, assumed
more powers under the Derg, including extensive supervisory control
over other agencies involved in law enforcement (prisons, the police
investigators, and “the legality of the administration of justice” [Tesfaye
2004, 70–71]). The courts became less important (because of the creation
of special tribunals [Jembere 2002, 514]), and their organization
was simplified. Proclamation 53 of 1975 reinstituted the Judicial
Commission for the appointment of judges, prosecutors, and registrars,
except for the presidents of the Supreme Court, the High Courts, and the
attorney general (all appointed by the head of state pursuant to
consultations with the minister of justice). Further changes made in
1987, with the establishment of the People’s Democratic Republic of