The constitutional basis of delegated legislation in Ethiopia

Article 77(13) of the Ethiopian Federal constitution provides as the power and function of the Council of Minsters "It shall enact regulations pursuant to powers vested in it by the House of People's Representatives."This provision is the constitutional basis for delegated legislation in Ethiopia.It has legalized delegated legislation on the condition of a case by case delegation is expressly given by the House.The House enables the delegation by specifically mentioning in a part of the proclamations it makes that the Council of Ministers shall make regulations.Thus,the purpose of the delegation is to enable the House to make the skeleton and the Council of Ministers fills it with the flesh.

Uniformity of criminal penalities in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia,there is poor uniformity and predictability of criminal penalties.One of the causes for this problem is the fact that the criminal code gives the judges a wide discretion in determining the criminal penalty or imprisonment. Due to this two persons may receive different sentences for the materially the same criminal act. In order to mitigate this problem,the Federal Supreme Court has made Sentencing Guidelines. I think these guidelines has improved and also will improve the uniformity of criminal penalties in Ethiopia.