Forgery is a real threat to our Justice System

Nowadays,documents submitted to employers as evidence of education and work experience,driving licenses,ID cards,certificates of ownership,business licenses,etc are prepared in a forged way.Such forged documents are often submitted to courts and administrative tribunals as evidence resulting in miscarriage of justice.So,all of us have to fight against this threat to our justice system.The Federal Police forensic directorate documents investigation department is making a great contribution in fighting forgery. Each and every one of us should also contribute our share in fighting forgery.Otherwise,injustice will triumph over justice.What is your opinion on the issue?

Unsolicited Mobile Text Messages

        Day in and day out,a lot of text messages pop into our mobile phones. These are not from family or friends. Some of the text messages are sent from the telecom operator ,Ethiotelecom;Others are sent from government offices to convey a certain message and others are sent from organizations that run ads.,etc...Whoever is the sender,there is no a request given by us to get these messages. We are rarely asked whether or not we are interested to receive such messages.Nor anyone of us has given permission to the senders to send messages to our phones. In my opinion,our phones are ours;your phone is yours.So sending unsolicited text messages may amount to infringement of our privacy rights something like somebody entering our house without permission.The problem related to this issue is that there is no a clear law which directly regulates such privacy issues. I think it needs regulation.What is your opinion on the issue?

Let all police respect Human Rights in the New Year ('' ስትገረፍ፤ታወራዋለህ '' ቢቀር)...

It is a common complaint in Ethiopia that some police officers violate human rights of suspects and/or sentenced persons. Our FDRE constitution has clear provisions concerning the human rights of suspects and even of convicted and sentenced persons.For example,use of force to get evidence is prohibited because torture is a crime against humanity. Even evidence found by use of force has no acceptance.Ethiopia has accepted all basic international human rights treaties and incorporated them to be part and parcel of the constitution. Even though the law is clear,some police members violate it and violate human rights.Some do so out of lack of awareness;some do this out of lack of the proper criminal investigation skills and some do so just to abuse their power.Law enforcement should be done respecting constitutionally guaranteed human rights and following the legal procedures in the criminal procedure code.Otherwise,it is unconstitutional.It must be corrected in the new year!What is your opinion on the issue?

Probono Service of some Ethiopian Federal Lawyers

As it is well known,lawyering is not a solid for profit business.It is rather a profession by which the lawyer gives legal advice representing clients at courts of law or administrative tribunals and in return,gets remuneration or payment for the services delivered.Even though payment of money is involved in the contract of service,it doesn't mean a lawyer needs payment in every case.Since lawyering is a profession one pursues to stand for justice,lawyers must give free legal service to those who can't afford to pay.Actually,it is being done in Ethiopia too.In Ethiopia,every federal lawyer must give 50 hours of free service to those who can't pay.But the problem is not on the time or hours spent but the problem of not giving equal weight to paid and free services.If it is free service,some lawyers prepare poor statements of claim and/or defense,miss court sessions and and even if they appear,they come unprepared.This is unethical. It needs correction.What is your opinion on the issue? P

Opinion Versus Defamation

If you say that you think somebody is a thief,it is your opinion but if you say you saw somebody steal,you are alleging a fact. If what you thought is proven wrong,it is not a crime because you have freedom of thought. But if what you alleged as a fact is proven false,then this constitutes the crime known as defamation. Have a good day!!!

Concept of terrorism

      Terrorism is related with trying to get a certain aim succeed by means of intimidation and force,by means of making people fear a certain actual or potential threat. The basic problem of terrorism is that it is often indiscriminate about targets. For example,if a bomb exploded in a public place,those who may die or be damaged are most of the time civilians,women,and children etc...who have no thing to do with politics. So,the effect of terrorism is harmful. That is why countries need anti-terrorism law. That is why we also have this law. So,the need for anti-terrorism law is vivid.

What do you think about the Independence of the Judiciary in Ethiopia?

 
       As it is well-known the principles of separation of powers and independence of the judiciary are key to ensure a real democracy and rule of law. To that end,there must be clear legal instruments and institutions that ensure the independence of the judiciary. The 1995 Constitution unequivocally declares the independence of the Ethiopian judicial branch(See article 78 of the FDRE constitution). .In and of itself ,however,the declaration of independence does not equate to the creation of independence if institutions and systems are unable or unwilling to shoulder the burdens and share the power in a practical and well-established procedure. 

     The Judiciary at the Federal and Regional levels are administered by their own Judicial administration Councils.Thus, this is what we call self-regulation which by itself is a good tool for securing the independence of the judiciary.In this regard the selection,recruitment,promotion,demotion,etc...of judges in Ethiopia are handled by this council.

      While we discuss this issue there are other very important points that must be put in perspective such as the salary and benefits package of judges,the amount and the administration of court budgets, etc...which have either a direct or indirect impact on resolving the issue.

                You can share us facts and your own opinions on the issue at hand.

Restorative Justice For All!

           
       In response to the ever-increasing  problems such as inefficient court processes and prison crowding, countries throughout Africa are looking to revive traditional justice processes and implement restorative practices as an alternative to incarceration.Basically,customary dispute settlement mechanisms and laws play the key role in many African countries including Ethiopia.These must be systematized and used side by side with the regular state laws and institutions.There is multiplicity of laws in Ethiopia,which includes cultural laws(such as The 'Geda' System of the Oromos and the 'Kicha' and 'Yegordena Sera' of the Gurages to mention but a few) and religious laws(such as Sharia Law and the laws of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church), which needs to be wisely used for both civil and criminal cases to bring restorative justice in the country.What do you think on the issue? Feel free to share us your opinions.

A Point about ''Freedom of Expression''

Freedom of expression is the key for building a real democracy in any country.It is also a human right.However,there should be a limit to it as there is a limit on any right.For example,defamatory,libel,riot-provoking expressions need not be permitted by the guise of freedom of expression. In Ethiopia,there are nations and nationalities with their own identities. If one person tries to say something like "This type of nation or nationality is non-existent '' or if the person speaks something similar to this that degrades the identity of a certain nation or nationality,etc,is this something that falls within the legitimate right to freedom of expression? The right to freedom of expression should never ever be a tool for the abuse of others' rights. If abused,the legitimate right starts to constitute a crime. Nowadays,there are many posts on social media that degrade a certain ethnic,religious or political ideology groups. Constructive analysis and criticism is an  encouragable culture but blatant insult is not. What do you think about this issue?

My view about what free and balanced press media means.

 Free media is a forum where people can express their opinions unabridged and whereby the journalist is only a professional mediator to give them the forum the people need. Balanced media is the media which is unbiased;which exercises independent investigative journalism;which is always trying to collect information and present it from diverse sources and perspectives.

 In my opinion,I still stick to the idea that a journalist must necessarily present ideas in a balanced way. Otherwise, we are gonna hear watch and read only one side of the coin. For example almost all the so-called free media in Ethiopia are obsessed with contents that are anti-government( opposition). But need they be so?  Concerning whether a journalist doesn't need the forum for himself/herself,he/she can actually use the forum but only in unbiased way.Otherwise,if they present their mere opinions as facts,they have a great potential of misleading people in the wrong way.Thus,if a journalist wants to use the media as any person, he/she needs to separate opinions from facts; substantiate or support facts or statements with the necessary evidence and make the forum open for further comment by others.


In light of this,"How free and balanced are the so-called FREE PRESS in Ethiopia?"

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.