This post is for all of the law geeks who are reading! A few months ago, I learnt from my boss that in Ethiopia, laws or decisions of governmental institutions cannot be constitutionally challenged in Ethiopian courts. As soon as there is a constitutional question, the courts will refuse to deal with it and will instead send the matter on to the Constitutional Inquiry Commission, a body established and staffed by the Ethiopian Government.
The Constitutional Inquiry Commission considers the matter and proposes a decision to the House of the Federation (one of the houses of Parliament in Ethiopia), with the final decision resting with the House of the Federation. Essentially, the House of the Federation makes all decisions relating to the interpretation, scope, application and development of the Ethiopian Constitution and constitutional principles. As such, jurisprudence in the area of constitutional law is virtually non-existent in Ethiopia. Furthermore, the concept of judicial review does not exist in Ethiopia.
