Ethiopia, one of the populous and poorest states in Africa, does not have a comprehensive statutory or administrative scheme for compensating victims of crime. Nevertheless, the idea of pecuniary compensation to victims of crime finds place in its Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. The paper delves deep into the three approaches to compensating crime victims reflected in these statutes and highlights inbuilt weaknesses. Given the socio-economic conditions prevailing in Ethiopia and the state compensatory schemes emerging in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa, it assesses the feasibility of a state compensatory scheme in Ethiopia. It not only pleads for the removal of the inbuilt structural and operational bottlenecks of the existing fragmented statutory compensatory scheme but also offers certain viable proposals for the setting up of a state compensatory scheme in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia in her journey from an imperial regime to a Federal Democratic Republic polity has witnessed different judicial systems that has emerged from, and premised on, the then prevalent political philosophy and ideology. During the era of Emperor Menelik II, the judiciary was considered a part of the executive as the Ministry of Justice. Afe Negus, was the head of the judges and was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the judges delivered justice in accordance with the ‘Fetha Negast’. Emperor Haile Selassie I, who took keen interest in codification of the laws, promulgated two Constitutions in 1931 and 1955 respectively during his reign and injected the idea of independence of judiciary and adjudication according to law. However, military junta, which suspended operation of the Revised Constitution (1955), made the judicial system amenable to executive and hence a crippled institution. The contemporary three tier judicial system established under, and governed by, the FDRE Constitution (1995) asserts judicial independence and justice according to law. But the constitutional paradigm, contrary to the constitutional assertion, does not assure structural and functional autonomy to courts and through a couple of calculative designs, leaves scope for executive interference in the administration of justice. This paper not only traces the judicial system of Ethiopia which is in vogue, but also highlights the inherent defects in its structural and functional facets and pleads for apposite reforms.
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