7. Federal Sharia Courts in Addis Ababa

Sharia-based law in Ethiopia gained greater political and legal prominence with the political liberalization that followed the regime change in 1991.However, almost two decades after they were formally constituted, Sharia courts have received limited academic attention and only a small number of research works focus on their jurisprudence and day-to-day operation.This chapter examines the nature of Sharia case law, litigants and the procedures for settling cases. Besides providing an analysis of the statistics of Sharia courts and a description of court proceedings, most importantly, it will look at two recent developments affecting the Muslim community: growing human rights and women’s rights consciousness; and increasing Muslim demands for self-autonomy over religious matters, and their influence, if any, on Sharia court rulings. The research shows that, despite the fact that Sharia law prescribes a patriarchal tendency in marital ties and sanctions a sex-based differential treatment of divorce and post-divorce matters, young, educated and economically independent women form the overwhelming majority in suits brought before Sharia courts in Addis Ababa. It also shows that Sharia courts tend to apply civil procedure rules rather leniently but that their proceedings appear consistent. Shafie Islamic jurisprudence, which is said to be relatively less conservative over family and divorce matters than other schools of thought, guides their judgments. However, attempts by the Sharia courts to expand their jurisdiction to matters beyond those delineated by legislation has been kept in check by the state’s judicial and quasi-judicial organs.