Journal of
Law and Conflict Resolution

  • Abbreviation: J. Law Conflict. Resolut
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 2006-9804
  • DOI: 10.5897/JLCR
  • Start Year: 2009
  • Published Articles: 103

Article in Press

Assessing the Implementation of the Federal Supreme Court Cassation Decisions in Selected Federating Units and Federal Government of Ethiopia: Language as a Stumbling block [?]

Markos Belay

  •  Received: 16 June 2020
  •  Accepted: 18 August 2020
This study, by using a qualitative research methodology, besides determining the degree of implementation of the Federal Supreme Court Cassation Decisions (hereinafter, FSCCDs) in selected federating units, and federal level, primarily targets to examine the effect of the language of their publication on their level of implementation. Accordingly, it argues that the extent of implementation of FSCCDs is not to the required level. Put differently, there is implementation gap. Moreover, besides other factors like those that the problem related to timely accessibility of the decisions, the one-size-fits-all approach in the language of the publication of FSCCDs has its own adverse effect on their degree of implementation. Therefore, this article urges that, like other federal laws, the FSCCDs should have an authoritative English version. This would possibly ease the problem the practitioners (judges, public prosecutors, attorneys, and defense counsels) are facing. Moreover, since publishing an authoritative English version together with Amharic version per se can hardly solve all the problems (because the significant majority of the ordinary citizens may not understand both versions), the Federal Government should work with the Regional Governments; at least, to make the FSCCDs to be available in the working language of each Regional Governments.

Keywords: Cassation Decisions, Ethiopia, Federal Government, Federal State Structure, Federating Units, Implementation, Working Language, Federal Supreme Court