Retreat on Constitutional Interpretation in Bishoftu speech by Speaker of HOF

Distinguished Guest

Ladies and gentlemen. 

Good Morning. I am delighted to be here, on behalf of the The House of Federation and myself, let me welcome you all to these Retreat on Constitutional Interpretation in Beshoftu.

Let me acknowledge and thank Justice Albie Sachs, Prof Ulrich Karpen and Dr Xavier Arbos, for being with us in this retreat. I feel deeply privileged by their presence to share us their rich experience in the subject matter.

The House of Federation is Ethiopia’s Second Chamber of the federal Parliament, representing Ethiopia’s 75 ethnic groups, the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Ethiopia. While the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of our country has been suppressed during previous regimes, the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples became the founders of the new, federal and democratic Ethiopia in 1994. The Ethiopian Constitution is based on the principle of self-determination and focuses strongly both on group as well as individual rights.

The constitution strongly promotes equality, democracy and social justice and binds governments to the development of the country. The Nations, Nationalities and Peoples are granted an unconditional right to self-determination up to secession. For this reason, the Second Chamber of Parliament, the House of Federation is representing the Nations, Nationalities and Peoples and not the regional states.

While many second chambers have strong legislative mandates, the House of Federation’s mandates is different. The House of Federation resolves conflicts between regional states and between regional governments and the federal government, it designs and decides the larger part of the fiscal transfer system, it promotes the unity of the country through equitable development and last but not least, it interprets the constitution and promotes democracy and constitutionalism.

The federal system of Ethiopia has helped much in reducing armed conflicts and has been instrumental in helping the nation to inspire for bright future coexistence with tangible economic developments.  However the Ethiopian federal model has not been without weaknesses and criticisms. 

The Framers of Ethiopian constitution laid down the most important framework where by the politician, professional and legitimacy of sovereign power join and work together in constitutional interpretation. It is unique and we can call Ethiopian Model of Constitutional interpretation. Unlike other countries we opted in giving this mandate to The House of federation and CCI members as an advisory body to the House in interpreting the constitution.

Constitutional interpretation is one of the pillars of our constitution. Without strength in this pillar, the constitutional system could face a risk of serious damage or crisis. The quality, efficiency and transparency with which we deal with constitutional interpretation are core criteria by which the House of Federation and the Council of Constitutional Inquiry can be judged for meeting its obligations to our people.

 So far as a young Democratic institution both the House of federation and CCI has many limitations in terms of institutional capacity, mainly lack of skilled and professional experts, lack of system in case handling and also lack of awareness on the issues of constitutional interpretation among varies segments of the society.

Retreat like this one may help us to exchange experiences of other countries to deal with the challenges we have regarding institutional capacity. Although one size does not fit all, learning from others and adapting in to our own context should be principle. When we invite guests to share their experience.

Let us recall that this is actually the second meeting of this kind of basically the same group of experts, judges, parliamentarians and officials that have leadership roles in constitutional interpretation in our young democracy.  We had been also met in Adama in May 2011.

At that meeting – the first of its kind on this important subject – as a group we identified both the major strengths and some important weaknesses in our performance in the previous 15 years. There were also very animated discussions about some areas that needed improvements.  The question is: How do we make real progress?

  The House of Federation has embarked on immense and intense activities promoting constitutionalism and democracy throughout the last six years. Huge efforts have been undertaken in popularizing the democratic principles of the constitution. Among many others we have designed radio and TV programs which are both entertaining and educational. Most of them are quiz-shows, participating the audience. We have designed a series of animated cartoons for children, explaining democratic principles through short stories around the life of school-children. This includes equal rights of men and women, children’s rights, fair elections and the like. The resonance from children and adults towards this program but also to other is immense.

 The more we increase awareness creation, the more demand will be created among the society in bringing their case to the House of Federation and to the CCI. Therefore we are required to make and create capable institution which works effectively and efficiently.

Conclusion

Let me conclude by saying, this is a very good opportunity for CCI Members and Participants from the Region to exchange views and rich professional experience of our distinguished guests from three countries.   Based on this we will need to act swiftly to put in place the system which is adoptable to Ethiopian scenario.

 Finally, I would like to thank the organizers for the Preparation of this very valuable retreat which is designed to discuss on the most important issue and Center of gravity in our constitutional system.

Thank you.