All criminal cases do not lead to either conviction or acquittal after completion of trial. Midway, the cases may be withdrawn from the records of the criminal courts. In Ethiopia, power to withdraw criminal charges for the sake of public interest is absolutely vested in the hand of Attorney General (AG). Unfortunately, the Ethiopian laws are failed to define and lists some illustrations what constitutes public interest. In such a case, the AG has become lynch pin in disposal of cases otherwise than on merits. Thus, such power of the AG for withdrawal of criminal charges from prosecution for the sake of public interest has become a controversial topic in the criminal proceedings and in fact it is a peculiar power entrusted to the AG. The main objective of the article is to examine the existing normative frameworks of Ethiopian criminal justice system that regulating withdrawal of criminal charges for the sake of public interest. In order to achieve the intended aims, this article has employed doctrinal legal research on which legal analysis of the principal legislations was the focal point. In so doing, the study has identified a lot of legal vacuums. Accordingly, the study found absence of clear and comprehensive definition of the phrase public interest; lack of legal way outs for consideration of views and concerns of victims of crimes; absence of review mechanism in a case where the AG withdraw criminal charges arbitrary; lack of time limitation for continuation of criminal charges after withdrawal and empowering exclusive mandate and wide discretionary power to AG in withdrawing criminal charges alone are the main ones. Amongst others, it is recommended that the Ethiopian law maker should amend and enact a law governing withdrawal of criminal charges under the guise of public interest.
The purpose of this paper is to analysis the definition and scope of the crime of Genocide under Ethiopian criminal law in light of GC and ICC Statute. The paper is normative legal research by using statute, case, and conceptual approaches. The legal material analysis technique is done by the qualitative method of interpretation. The result showed that the definition of the crime of genocide and scope of possible victims provided under Ethiopian criminal law is wider than what is stated under the international criminal law.
The crime of illicit enrichment has been widely accepted as a useful mechanism for curbing corruption, both international and regional anti-corruption instruments. This article's main objective is to comparatively analyze the rationality and appropriateness of the penalty provided for illicit enrichment crime in the Ethiopian Corruption Crimes Proclamation compared with Hong Kong and Rwanda's legal regimes to draw some best lessons and way forwards for the identified problems. The article found that the Ethiopia Corruption Crimes Proclamation fails to set a minimum penalty limit and entails severe punishment in terms of imprisonment and fine that can convey a meaningful message to potential offenders. Thus, the penalty provided for the crime of illicit enrichment is designed in a manner in which the person who commits such crime has the chance to be less punished. In effect, this provision is inconsistent with the purpose of criminal law and major sentencing principles, but it also degenerates public confidence in the justice system. Therefore, Ethiopia needs to take a lesson from Hong Kong and Rwanda's experiences in incorporating severe and setting minimum limit of penalty for the crime of illicit enrichment that can convey a meaningful message to potential offenders.
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