, insignia = , insigniasize = , insigniacaption = , insigniaalt = , flag = , flagsize = , flagalt = , flagborder = , flagcaption = , image = , imagesize = , alt = , imagecaption = , incumbent = , acting = , incumbentsince = 2018 , department = , style = , type = Highest court , status = , abbreviation = , member_of = , reports_to = , residence = , seat = King George VI St,

Lideta Lideta (Amharic: ልደታ ክፍለ ከተማ) is a district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As of 2011 its population was of 214,769.Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, nominator = , appointer = , appointer_qualified = , termlength = , termlength_qualified = , constituting_instrument = , precursor = , inaugural = , formation = 1994 , first = , last = , abolished = , superseded_by = , succession = , unofficial_names = , deputy = , salary = , website = , footnotes = The Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia is the highest

court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

. It was established by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

in 1994 and is currently located in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. Article 78 of the Constitution establishes the judiciary and at the top is the FSC. By the Constitution, the Federal Supreme Court has "the power of cassation over any final court decision containing a basic error of law". In 2018,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Abiy Ahmed Abiy Ahmed Ali ( om, Abiyi Ahmed Alii; am, አብይ አሕመድ ዐሊ; born 15 August 1976) is an Ethiopian politician who has been the 4th prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia since 2 April 2018. He won the 2019 ...

appointed

Meaza Ashenafi Meaza Ashenafi (born 25 July 1964) is an Ethiopian lawyer. In November 2018, she was appointed by the Federal Parliamentary Assembly as President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia until her resignation on 17 January 2023.Paul Schemm (Nove ...

to be the first female president 03the Federal Supreme Court. Solomon Areda Waktolla was appointed as Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court.

History and overview

After the

People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) () was a socialist state that existed in Ethiopia and present day Eritrea from 1987 to 1991. The PDRE was established in February 1987 as a Marxist-Leninist one-party state upon the adoption ...

(PDRE) was toppled, the

Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF; am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝቦች አብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ግንባር, translit=Ye’Ītiyop’iya Ḥizibochi Ābiyotawī Dīmokirasīyawī Ginibari) was an eth ...

(EPRDF) that was dommainted by the

Tigray People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilitar ...

(TPLF), formed the federal system that exists today. Within the three year transition from the PDRE, the 1995 constitution was drafted and developed. It was officially adopted in 1994 which created the federal and state governments in Ethiopia. The constitution was able to establish

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

, and

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

powers for the federal and state governments. However, the framers of the constitution (who did not trust the judiciary under the PDRE) entrusted the

House of Federation The House of Federation () is the upper house of the bicameral Federal Parliamentary Assembly, the parliament of Ethiopia. It has 112 members. Each Nation, Nationality and People shall be represented in the House of the Federation by at leas ...

(HoF) instead of the courts for solving the issues that may develop between the governmental powers.

Overview of FSC

The Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia was created by the 1995 constitution. The constitution was able to successfully establish a dual court system. In the constitution, the Federal Supreme Court was given "supreme federal judicial authority". Over federal issues and matters, the Federal Supreme Court is given the final word. With the mandate, the regional states in Ethiopia were able to develop and create their own supreme, high, and first-instance courts. The Federal Supreme Court resolves the disputes over jurisdiction that may be among those federal and municipal courts in

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa ( am, ድሬዳዋ, om, Dirree Dhawaa, 3=Place of Remedy; so, Diridhaba, meaning "where Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", ar, ديري داوا,) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Oromia and Somali Re ...

along with

Council of Constitutional Inquiry

The ability to interpret the constitution and decide on cases that entertain these constitutional issues is given to the House of Federation instead of the courts. The Council of Constitutional Inquiry ("CCI") was created in addition to the House of Federation in order to help the HoF in interpretation and investigation of constitutional issues. The CCI has eleven members. Six of the members are legal scholars and three are from the HOF. The President of the Supreme Court acts as the chairperson of the CCI. The Vice President of the Supreme Court is on the CCI as well and acts as the deputy chair person. The role that the CCI has on constitutional review is advisory. If the courts believe there is a case needing constitutional interpretation, they submit those cases to the HOF and CCI.

Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction that the Federal Supreme Court has is very limited and exceptional. Through the constitution, it is given the highest and final judicial power over federal issues. The FSC is the highest court of appeal in the Ethiopian federal judiciary. It has "first instance" and "appellate" jurisdiction. The abuses of the federal government and the offenses that exist, offenses where international diplomats are liable for are under the "first instance" jurisdiction.

Membership

The Federal Supreme Court consists of 11 judges. The judges appointed serve until their retirement. The President and Vice President of the Federal Supreme Court of Ethiopia are appointment by the

House of Peoples' Representatives The House of Peoples' Representatives is the lower house of the Ethiopian Federal Parliamentary Assembly. Located in the capital Addis Ababa, the House has 547 members. All are elected in theory for five-year term in single-seat constituencies. ...

after nomination by the

. , the President is

.Bratt, Henrik. "Uneven Playing Field: Understanding Abiy Ahmed Manipulation of Democracy in Ethiopia." (2020). The judiciary has been criticized as operating by the incumbent party. The nomination of Meaza Ashefani by Prime Minister Abiy Amhed has been publicized as a way to make the judiciary more independent. , the Vice President is Soloman Areda Waktolla. Other judges for federal courts are selected by the Federal Judicial Administrative Council (a group of 10 members chaired by the President of the FSC) and submitted to the HoPR by the Prime Minister for appointment. Article 81 of the Constitution gives the Prime Minister the ability to nominate the members of the FSCR and Article 83 allows the resolution of constitutional disputes by the HOR.

Cassation

The Federal Supreme Court has the power of cassation over state matters which creates controversy among legal scholars and officials (lawyers and judges within the country). This is the only power that is reserved for the FSC by the Constitution. There is a panel of five or more federal judges that make the decision. The Federal Supreme Court cassation division reviews the final decisions on federal issues. In addition, the FSC is given the ability to review the final decisions of the State Supreme Court. The State Supreme Court is also given this cassation power however the division within the FSC goes over the final decisions of a State Supreme Court. This decision by the cassation division creates a precedent that is binding. Because the State Supreme Court is given such power, it leads to cassation over cassation. One of the reasons this remains a highly controversial issue is that the line of jurisdiction become hazy. There is no definite meaning in the Constitution that delineates the difference between a federal and state legal issue.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ethiopian Federal Courts
National supreme courts Law of Ethiopia