{"title":"Legal and Practical Aspects of Child Custody, Visitation and Maintenance: A Case Study in SNNP Regional State","authors":"Nigussie Afesha","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V11I2.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V11I2.2","url":null,"abstract":"Although divorce disrupts the marital bond thereby terminating marital rights and obligations, each parent’s obligations to the wellbeing and upbringing of children (custody, visitation rights, and maintenance) persists. This article examines the practice of courts with regard to child custody, visitation rights and obligation to supply maintenance in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) Regional State. The experience of various court decisions in SNNP Regional State with respect to these matters is explored. Since the laws do not have detailed provisions that regulate the various issues of child custody, visitation and child support, there is inconsistency in judicial decisions. Many decisions do not distinguish between physical and legal custody. As a result, the legal and physical custody of the child usually rest on the same person. With regard to visitation, there is variation in court decisions although the conventional arrangement seems standard visitation. In some cases, courts specify the duration and form of visitation. However, in many cases, courts do not indicate how and when visitation shall be allowed. There are cases where courts overlook the issue of visitation. There is also inconsistency in court decisions with regard to child support. These problems call for detail provisions to ensure consistency and predictability in child custody, visitation and child support decisions. Key terms Family · Divorce · Child custody · Visitation · Maintenance","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"275-303"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V11I2.2","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45734261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Declaration of Principles on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Some Issues of Concern","authors":"Dereje Mekonnen","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V11I2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V11I2.1","url":null,"abstract":"The Nile Basin has long been noted as a potential flashpoint for resource conflict on account of the prevalence of inequitable water utilization and acrimonious inter-riparian relations. The basin’s proneness to conflict has been exacerbated by the absence of an inclusive legal and institutional framework governing the utilization and management of its meager water resources. Unilateralism and incompatible riparian claims negating the fundamentals of international water law still continue to be the defining features of the basin. Launched in such a setting, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) constitutes a significant counter-hegemonic measure capable of inducing a positive transformation in the basin’s inequitable status quo. A lasting solution which would ensure the equitable and sustainable utilization of the Nile waters for the benefit of all is, however, still elusive as the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DoP) poses challenges which might arguably neutralize the transformative impact of the GERD and entail institutionalization of the status quo. Key terms GERD · Declaration of Principles · International Water Law · Equitable Utilization · Nile Basin","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"255-274"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V11I2.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49423284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Globalization of Patent Laws through Trade Agreements, and Pressures on Ethiopia’s Patent Regime: The Passenger behind the Wheel","authors":"A. Yusuf","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V12I1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V12I1.3","url":null,"abstract":"Given that patent law emerged in domestic systems, there was an obvious diversity of patent regimes. With the advent of cross-border movement of resources, including inventions, there was a need for a harmonized patent regime. The issue went to another level with the entry into force of the WTO/TRIPS Agreement, which requires WTO members to enact new patent laws or amend existing ones to make them TRIPS compliant. The Ethiopian Patent Law, which was enacted in 1995, is strangely TRIPS compliant, tempting many to think that it had Ethiopia’s forthcoming accession in mind. However, with Ethiopia yet to complete the accession process, there are further pressures from industrialized countries to ensure that stringent patent rules are complied with in developing countries. This article examines TRIPS, the Cotonou Agreement and AGOA as effective instruments of ensuring compliance. It is argued that the Ethiopian patent system will continue to observe TRIPS and other standards as dictated by the Global North. Key terms Globalization · Harmonization · IP · Patent · TRIPS Agreement · BTA · GSP · Cotonou Agreement · AGOA","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V12I1.3","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70570846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Nile Basin Initiative and the Cooperative Framework Agreement: failing institutional enterprises? A Script in legal history of the Diplomatic Confront (1993–2016)","authors":"T. Woldetsadik","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V11I1.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.7","url":null,"abstract":"Nearly two decades since its inception, the Transitional Mechanism of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) has been credited for fulfilling several components of its institutional undertaking –building an atmosphere of trust and dialogue among riparian states. Yet, the negotiations pursued under the auspices of the NBI have failed to realize one of organization’s most fundamental missions: establishing a permanent legal framework and institution ‘acceptable’ to all states across the basin. The diplomatic enterprise leading to the adoption of the Agreement on the Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework (CFA) was beset by multifaceted challenges. I argue that in spite of the unparalleled heights in cooperative dialogues that were largely depicted as a ‘political triumph’ from upstream perspective, the legal and hydro–political discourse leading to the CFA’s final framing failed to mollify the ‘expectations’ of two key stake–holding states: Egypt and Sudan. This preordained an existential threat to the institutional future of the NBI itself and the noble objectives it sought to realize. All the same, the organizational predicament in the basin also evinced that the Nile riparian states have little choice but to revive the ‘dwindling’ momentum and ensure that the NBI’s undertaking is concluded in an ‘inclusive’ and ‘equitable’ manner. Else, this author submits, the alternative would not only present a bleak future from the point of view of cooperation and optimum development of the Nile resources, over the long range, it also stifles the basin states’ enduring riverine interests. Keywords: Nile Basin Initiative, Nile River Cooperative Framework, Negotiations history of the CFA, Legal positions of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, Future of the NBI","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"196-228"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.7","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42844676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deliverables and pledges under Ethiopian Trade Competition Law: the need for private sector empowerment and enablement","authors":"E. N. Stebek","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V11I1.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.2","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines whether Ethiopia’s Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Proclamation enacted in 2014 can deliver its pledges toward ensuring fair trade practices. Trade competition envisages viable competitors in the context equal opportunities in operation and access to factors of production of goods and services. It is under such setting that the production and distribution of goods and services can match the level of consumer demand and choice (in kind, quantity, quality and price) envisaged in the law. On the contrary, private economic actors cannot be protected from unfair business practices in the context of pressures from non-private sector economic hegemony and politically affiliated oligopolistic entities. It is argued that a broad-based private sector and its enablement including the need to address gaps in Ethiopia’s land laws, an enhanced autonomy of the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (TCCPA) in the context of good governance (which includes rule of law and independent judiciary), representation of stakeholders in the Authority, and the empowerment of civil society organizations are crucial to deliver the pledges embodied in Ethiopia’s competition law. Keywords: Trade competition, consumer welfare, private sector empowerment, land policy, oligopolistic pressures, Ethiopia","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"32-63"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.2","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48432873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comment: Some thoughts on the organization of legal Practice in Ethiopia","authors":"Tameru Wondim Agegnehu","doi":"10.4314/mlr.v11i1.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.8","url":null,"abstract":"The art of arguing cases evolved in Ethiopia as elsewhere as a personal skill and to this day, legal service in Ethiopia is a sole practice that has not been able to organize itself into a law firm. Lawyers have not been able to take advantage of partnership models under the Ethiopian Commercial Code of 1960 as in other countries, either because of concocted legal mysticism or because of the laxity of legal service in the country that did not call for robust or specialized and organized law firms. The history of law firms in other countries indicates that the evolution proceeded through the General Partnership to Limited Partnership (LP) and finally culminating on the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) which started in the USA and spread out to the rest of the world in the 1990s. It is now time to think in terms of organizing law firms in Ethiopia, and the Committee entrusted with a duty to revamp the Commercial Code of Ethiopia must see to it that the section on Business Organizations included the LLP to accommodate professional business associations including the legal practice. Keywords: Legal practice, limited liability partnership, non-commercial professional partnership, Commercial Code, Ethiopia","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"229-238"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.8","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43948543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interrogating the economy-first paradigm in ‘Sustainable Development’: towards integrating development with the ecosystem in Ethiopia","authors":"T. B. Ghebretekle","doi":"10.4314/mlr.v11i1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.3","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the concept of sustainable development after the Post-2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement with particular emphasis on Ethiopia. Various African countries are vulnerable to climate change, as is evidenced by recent droughts. Ethiopia is selected as a case study in light of its pace in economic growth and as a country which is among the ones that are most affected by climate change. I argue that the concept of sustainable development will be meaningful if it is related only to the core idea of ecological sustainability. Long-term economic growth in Ethiopia is possible if the underlying environmental resources that underpin it are protected and enhanced. Sustainable development remains peripheral and impractical as long as the pursuit of economic and social development remains the practical driving force behind the Ethiopian government’s policy as the primary measure of success. It is argued that the overarching standard for the application of sustainable development should be the integrity of the country’s ecosystem. It is the economic growth which needs to be aligned to the ecological integrity, not the other way round because equitable economic growth requires the protection of its foundation, i.e. the ecosystem. If sustainable development is not based on ecological integrity; it remains a form of hegemonic knowledge, ‘based on a narrow, weak notion of sustainability that promotes reformist fantasies that the crisis can be addressed within the social, political, economic and cultural structures that created it.’ Keywords: Ethiopia, sustainable development, economic growth, social development, ecological sustainability, weak sustainability, strong sustainability","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"64-87"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.3","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48299338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comment: The standards in admitting expert evidence in Ethiopia: some practical discrepancies","authors":"Abreha Mesele Zinabu","doi":"10.4314/mlr.v11i1.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.9","url":null,"abstract":"Judges render justice based on the presented evidence justifying their decisions. In criminal cases, these decisions can have ramifications on an individual’s right to liberty, life and property. Correctness of conviction much depends on the evidence presented to the courtroom and the interpretation of the evidence by judges. Expert evidence is particularly important because certain issues are beyond the expertise of judges in the current era of specialization and due to ever-expanding advances in technology. Expert evidence has to be used very cautiously based on a set of objective criteria that judges can use. This comment looks at the experience of other countries in relation to admission of expert evidence. It then assesses the current practice in Ethiopia by looking at a few cases and concludes that there is wide variation in admitting expert evidence and regarding the weight given to it by different courts. Keywords: Expert Evidence, admission, weight of evidence, criminal justice administration, Ethiopia","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"239-247"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.9","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43049160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Case Comment: Comment on the Cassation Division’s Decision in File No. 80119 (Amharic)","authors":"Gebreyesus Abegaz Yimer","doi":"10.4314/mlr.v11i1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.10","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"248-254"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/mlr.v11i1.10","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45745488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable through legal clinics in Ethiopia: constraints and opportunities","authors":"Mizanie Abate, Alebachew Birhanu, M. Alemayehu","doi":"10.4314/MLR.V11I1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.1","url":null,"abstract":"The right of access to justice, inter alia , enjoins states to provide legal aid services and employ legal literacy programs. It also ensures access to legal and justice institutions or legal remedies to the indigent and the vulnerable. Although the right of access to justice is guaranteed in Ethiopian laws, it continues to be unavailable to most citizens particularly to the indigent and the vulnerable because the different mechanisms (designed to ensure access to justice to these groups) have not been accorded sufficient legal recognition and are poorly implemented. We argue that law school legal clinics could be among the viable pursuits in addressing the gap. However, this study reveals that legal clinics per se are non-existent. In many law schools, the establishment of legal clinics has been hindered by lack of expertise, commitment of law schools to run clinical programs and financial problems. Law schools can meaningfully contribute to fill the gaps of access to justice in Ethiopia, if their legal aid centers are consolidated and used as legal clinics, and if clinical legal education is provided in accordance with the curricula designed in 2006 and 2013. Keywords: Legal clinics, legal aid, access to justice, law schools, Ethiopia","PeriodicalId":30178,"journal":{"name":"Mizan Law Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"1-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/MLR.V11I1.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46703215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}