8. Use and abuse of ‘the right to consent’

This study examines how the local community in Ankober handles its right to consent to enter into customary court or switch to the formal one. The only condition attached to resolving disputes through customary court is that both parties in the conflict should agree to it.This sounds like a fair arrangement. But, as there are no laws that regulate how consent, already given, should be sustained or terminated, the right to choose and shift between courts is open to abuse. Article 34(5) of the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE 1995) Constitution stipulates that disputes relating to personal and family laws can be dealt with in accordance with customary or religious laws ‘with the consent of parties to the dispute’. Article 34(5) of the 2001 Revised Constitution of the Amhara National Regional State (ANRS 2001) is a verbatim copy of the analogous provisions of the FDRE Constitution. However, neither the constitutions nor any of the subsidiary laws give any details on how to apply the constitutional notion of consent. Both constitutions stipulate that ‘Particulars shall be determined by law’, but this has not been done so far.