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Toward Making a Proper Space for the Individual in the Ethiopian Constitution

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Abstract

A symbolic, normative, and institutional investigation of the 1995 Ethiopian Constitution reveals that the individual is displaced and locked in the periphery as much of the socio-economic and political ecology of the state is occupied by Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (NNPs). The Constitution presents and makes NNPs authors, sovereigns and constitutional adjudicators by adopting a corporate conception of group rights. As this corporate conception of group rights permeate and structure the organization of the Ethiopian state and government, the individual is relegated in the constitutional order. In order to make the transition to constitutional democracy sustainable, it is argued that the Constitution should accommodate and ensure individual autonomy by adopting a collective conception of group rights. This offers both the normative basis and institutional safeguards to strike a proper equilibrium between group rights and individual rights.

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Notes

  1. For instance, is the people of Addis Ababa a Nation, Nationality or People in the constitutional sense?

  2. For instance, Afar, Amhara, Harari, Oromo, Somali, Tigre, and other major NNPs.

  3. For instance, Silte and Qimanint.

  4. For instance, Bantu in Ethiopian Somali Regional State and Wolqayit in Tigray Regional State.

  5. See the respective constitutions on the section dealing with the right to property, land, and/or protection from expropriation. The constitutions can be accessed at <https://www.constituteproject.org/search?lang=en>.

  6. The HoF’s decision in the case of Kedija Beshir and Dr. Negasso Gidada, the former president, can be mentioned in this regard. While the HoF decided in favor of Kedija Beshir concerning family dispute, it decided against the former president concerning his constitutional right to be elected.

  7. Despite abolishing centuries old imperial rule, the Derg reaffirmed the idea of “We the People” while recognizing Ethiopia’s multi-ethnic composition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Legal Studies, Central European University, Nadur utca 11-1051, Budapest, Hungary

    Berihun Adugna Gebeye

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  1. Berihun Adugna Gebeye
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Correspondence to Berihun Adugna Gebeye.

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Gebeye, B.A. Toward Making a Proper Space for the Individual in the Ethiopian Constitution. Hum Rights Rev 18, 439–458 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-017-0471-5

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