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Justice Sector Corruption in Ethiopia 207
training and on-the-job experience can fill in the gaps, participants may
be better prepared than law school graduates (who, as is nearly universally
true, are trained to practice law as private attorneys, not as judges or
prosecutors).
The appointment systems for all these officials have also been further
developed, with some agencies instituting written examinations to screen
candidates. However, as further discussed below, there are many complaints
that the recruitment, promotions, and discipline processes lack
transparency, especially for the judiciary. Some regional courts have
begun to recruit more openly, but the federal system remains pretty
much a black box in this regard. Federal and regional judges are evaluated
on productivity, but other elements that may affect promotions, transfers,
and discipline remain known only to the judicial administrative councils
that manage them.
Shortage of “entrusted” attorneys. Finally, regarding “entrusted” officials,
the panorama is not complex, and the principal actors (and the only
ones covered here) are private attorneys. As noted, a first problem is
their scarcity, a situation only gradually being resolved with the creation
of more law schools and even then subject to the added concern
of reduced educational standards. 13 Attorneys must be licensed to practice
by the Ministry (or the regional Bureaus) of Justice. At the federal
level, an examination or five years of practice are required, but once a
lawyer is accepted, the subsequent requirements are only payment of
fees.
The ministry also receives complaints about malpractice, but it
appears, at least at the federal level, that the major cause of suspension
is a failure to reregister. Of the 81 lawyers subject to investigation in
2007/08, nearly all were suspected of working without a license or not
keeping up with their fees. Only a handful were under investigation for
other reasons, and in any event only 15 cases were fully processed, with
the remainder being carried over to this year, according to ministry
documents.
With the courts taking the lead, it is evident that the government as a
whole, as well as the individual agencies, has made efforts to improve its
performance, especially to upgrade the quality and quantity of staff and
to improve efficiency. The period since 1991 has seen its ups and downs,
but generally the trends have been positive. However, with most emphasis
on productivity and efficiency, issues like corruption have arguably
received insufficient attention.