BONGAUNI

VERSI
TYCOLLEGEOFSOCI
ALSCI
ENCEANDHUMANI
TIES

DEPARTMENTOFLAW

COURSETI
TLE:LEGALCLI
NICS/CLI
NICALPROGRAM ONCHI
LDRI
GHTS

COURSECODE:LAWS5024

ASSI
GNMENTTYPE:I
NDI
VIDUALASSI
GNMENT

NAME:MESFI
NTAMI
RAT

I
D:2793

Deadl
ine:15/
04/
2017

SUBMI
TTEDTOI
NS.ABDUSHUKUREN.

TOGETHERWECAN!

BONGA,ETHI
OPI
A
 TABLEOFCONTENT

CONTENTS PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGMENT_
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___i
i

ABBREVI
ATI
ONANDACRONYMYS_
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ABSTRACT_
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_iv

BACKGROUNDOFTHESTUDI
ES_
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_1

I
NTRODUCTI
ON_
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2

PROPOSAL'
SQUESTI
ON_
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_3

OBJECTI
VEOFTHESTUDI
ES_
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_4

VE_
GENERALOBJECTI ___
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4

SPECI
FI VES_
COBJECTI ___
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4

STATEMENTOFTHEPROBLEM _
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__5

MAI
NBODY_
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_6

JURI
SDI
CTI ACOURT_
ONOFSHARI ___
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FUNCTI ACOOURT_
ONOFSHARI ___
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_6

CHALLENGEFACEDBYSHARI _
ACOURT___
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6

CONCLUSI
ON_
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__8

PROPOSEDSOLUTI
ON_
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9

REFERENCES_
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_10
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fi
rst,Iwouldliket
othanksalmightyGodwhogi vesmehealthyandpeacewhenIam
doi
ngt hisProposal
.NextIwoul dexpressmydeepestgrati
tudethankstomymodel
i
nstructorAbdushukur
eNursafaf orhi
sunli
mitedassi
stanceandhear t
feltadvi
ce.Last
butnotleastIwouldli
ketothankt heMusli
m communitywhom shar etheiri
deawithme
duri
ngt hi
smi nipr
oposalwork.

i
i
ABREVI
ATI
ONANDACRONYMYS

•FDRE Feder
alDemocr
ati
cRepubl
i
cofEt
hiopi
a

•Co Const
it
uti
on

•WB Wor
ldBank

i
i
i
Abst
ract
:

Shar i
acour t
sser veasav it
alcomponentoft hel egal l
andscapei nmanyMusl i
m-
maj oritycountriesandcommuni ti
es, providingaf ramewor kf orresolvingdi sput esin
accor dancewi thI slami claw( Shar i
a) .Thesecour tsaddr essawi der angeofi ssues,
i
ncludi ngf amilylaw, inherit
ance, andcont r
act ual disputes,emphasi zingpr inciplessuch
asjust ice,equity,andcommuni tywel fare.Oper at ingalongsi desecul arj udicialsystems,
Shar i
acour t
sof feranal t
ernativeav enuef orindiv idual
sseeki ngr esolutiont hataligns
witht heirreli
giousbel i
efsandcul turalvalues.Thi sabst ractexpl orest her oleand
signifi
canceofShar iacour tsinpr omot i
ngsoci al cohesion, protectingi ndividualri
ght s,
andf ost eri
nget hicalconductwi thinMusl im communi ti
es.I talsoexami nest he
challengesf acedbyShar iacour ts,includingper cept i
onsofgenderequi t
yandt heneed
formoder nizati
oni ni nterpr
etationsofI slami claw.Ul t
imat ely,Shar i
acour tsexempl i
fy
theint ersecti
onoff aithandl aw, reflecti
ngt hedi verseway sinwhi chjust i
cecanbe
under stoodandadmi nist
eredi ncont empor ar ysoci ety.

i
v
 :
, ,

Backgr
ound
Ethiopi aisamul ti
-ethnicandmul ti
-rel
igiouscount r
ywher ethecoexistenceofv ari
ous
l
egal systems, includingsecularandr eli
gi ousl aws, i
spr ominent.Et
hiopiaisanat i
on
char acterizedbyi tsrichtapestryofethni cit
ies, cult
ures,andr el
i
gions.Amongi t
s
diversepopul ati
on, I
slam playsasi gni
ficantr ole, wit
hMusl i
msconst i
tuti
nga
subst antial por
tionoft hesociety.Toaddr esst heper sonallegalneedsoft his
communi ty,Shariacour tshavebeenest ablishedt oadj udi
catemat t
ersgov ernedby
Isl
ami claw.Thesecour tspri
mar i
lydeal wi t
hi ssuessuchasmar ri
age,divorce,
i
nher itance, andchi l
dcust ody,providi
ngaf ramewor kthatalignswithther el
igi
ousand
cultural valuesoft heMusl im populati
on.

Shariacour
ts,
whichoper
ateunderI
slami
claw,
hav
ebeenest
abl
i
shedt
oadj
udi
cat
e
personalmatt
ers.

Shari
acour
tsarejudici
albodiest
hatoper
ateunderI
slami
claw,knownasShari
a.These
court
saret
ypi
callyfoundincountr
ieswher
eIsl
amiclawisthel
egalsyst
em orwher
e
ther
eisasi
gnif
icantMuslim popul
ati
on

Thesecourtsaddressissuessuchasmar r
iage,divorce, i
nheritance,
andchi ldcustody
,
refl
ecti
ngthecul
turalandreli
giousv al
uesoft heMusl im popul ati
oninEthiopia.The
i
ntegrati
onofShariacourtsi
ntot heEthiopianlegalsy stem raisescompl exquest i
ons
regardi
ngjur
isdi
cti
on,functi
onali
ty,andt hechallengest heyf aceinapr edomi nantl
y
secularl
egalenv
ironment.

Iti
simportanttonotethattheappl i
cati
onofShari
alawandthefuncti
oningofShari
a
courtscandif
fersi
gnifi
cantlyacrossvari
ouscountr
iesandevenwithi
ndiff
erentr
egions
ofthesamecount r
y .Theinter
pretati
onandimplementat
ionofI
slamiclawcanbe
i
nfluencedbylocalcustom.

¹
I
NTRODUCTI
ON
Shari
acour t
sar ej
udici
albodi
esthatoperatewithi
nthef r
amewor kofI sl
amicl aw,
knownasShar ia.Thesecourt
splayasignifi
cantrol
einthel egalsystemsofv arious
countr
ies,part
icul
arlyi
nregi
onswhereIslam isthepredomi nantrel
igion.Sharia
encompassesabr oadrangeofl
egal,
ethi
cal,andmor alguideli
nesder ivedfr
om t he
Quran,theHadith(sayi
ngsandacti
onsoft heProphetMuhammad) ,andcent ur i
esof
Isl
amicjuri
sprudence.

Thepr i
maryfunctionofShar i
acour tsistoadjudicat
emat ter
spert
ainingtoper
sonal
stat
uslaws, i
ncludingmar ri
age,divorce,i
nheri
tance,andchil
dcustody,aswell
asto
addressdisputesrelatedtocontractsandf i
nancialtr
ansacti
ons.I
nmanycases, t
hese
courtsservetocompl ementsecularlegalsyst
ems, prov
idi
ngar el
igi
ouslygr
ounded
al
ternati
veforindividual
sseekingjust i
ceinaccordancewiththei
rfai
th.

Shar iacour
tsarecharacter
izedbythei
remphasisonmediati
onandr econci
l
iati
on,
reflecti
ngtheI
slamicprinci
plesofj
usti
ceandcompassion.Thejudges,orqadis,
are
typicall
ywell
-ver
sedinIslamiclawandaretaskedwit
hint
erpret
ingandapplyingthese
principl
estospecif
iccases.

²
Pr
oposal
'
squest
ion
Whatar
ethepri
marylegal
pri
ncipl
esandi
nter
pret
ati
onsofShari
athatgover
nfamily
l
awindi
ff
erentMusl
i
m- maj
ori
tycount
ri
es,
andhowdot heyaf
fectwomen'sri
ghts?

Howdot heout
comesoff
amil
ylawdisputesi
nShar
iacour
tscompar
etot
hosei
n
secul
arcour
tsi
nter
msofgenderequi
tyandwomen'
slegalst
andi
ng?

Whatr
oledocul
tur
alandsoci
etal
normsplayinshapi
ngt
hei
mplementat
ionofSharia
l
awinfamil
ydi
sput
es,andhowdot hesenor
msimpactwomen'
saccesstojust
ice?

Howdowomenpercei
vet
heeff
ecti
venessandfair
nessofShariacour
tsi
nresol
vi
ng
f
amil
ylawi
ssues,
andwhatf
act
orsinf
luencet
heirpercept
ions?

Whatar et
hel
egal ri
ghtsgrant
edtowomenundervar
iousi
nterpr
etat
ionsofShari
alaw
regar
dingmar
riage,div
orce,andi
nher
it
ance,
andhowconsistent
lyar
et heser
ight
s
enfor
cedinpr
actice?

HowdoShariacour
tsaddressi
ssuesofdomesti
cv i
olenceandmari
taldi
scor
d,and
whatpr
otect
ionsar
eavail
ablef
orwomenwi t
hintheselegalf
rameworks?

Whatarethei
mpli
cat
ionsoftheexi
stenceofShariacour
tsont
hebr
oaderl
egal
syst
emsinMusli
m-majori
tycount
ri
es,part
icul
arl
yconcerni
ngt
hepr
omoti
onofgender
equi
tyandwomen'sr
ight
s?

³
Obj
ect
ives:
Gener
alobj
ect
ive

—ProvidingjusticeandresolvedisputesinaccordancewithIslamiclaw(Sharia),
ensuri
ngthatt
helegalri
ghtsandobl
igati
onsofi
ndivi
dual
s,par
ti
cular
lyi
nmat t
ers
rel
atedtofami
lyl
aw, cont
ract
s,andpersonal
conductai
mingtopromotefai
rness,
soci
al

har
mony
,andadher
encet
orel
i
giouspr
inci
pleswi
thi
nthecommuni
ty .

Speci
fi
cobj
ect
ivesar
e:
—Anal
yzi
ngt
hej
uri
sdi
cti
onandf
unct
ionsofShar
iacour
tsi
nEt
hiopi
a.

—I
dent
if
yingandev
aluat
ethechal
l
engesf
acedbyShar
iacour
tsi
nthei
roper
ati
ons.

—Assessingt
heimpactofShari
acourtsont
heMusl
i
m communi
tyandt
hei
r
r
elat
ionshi
pwit
hthesecul
arlegalsy
stem.

—Proposingrecommendati
onsforenhancingt
heeffect
ivenessandi
ntegr
ati
onof
Shar
iacourt
swi t
hint
heEthi
opi
anlegalframework.

—Ensur
ingfai
randi
mpart
ial
adjudi
cati
onofdisputes,
upholdi
ngt
her
ight
sof
i
ndi
vi
dualsandcommuni
ti
esaccordi
ngtoIsl
ami cpri
ncipl
es.

—Safeguar
dingther
ightsofal
lparti
esinvolved,i
ncl
udi
ngwomen,chi
ldren,
and
v
ulner
ablei
ndivi
dual
s,ensur
ingthatthei
rlegalenti
tl
ement
sar
erespected.

—Pr ovi
dingamechani
sm forresol
vi
ngconfl
ict
sanddi
sputesi
namannert hati
s
consist
entwit
hIsl
amicteachi
ngs,t
herebypr
omoti
ngpeaceandreconci
l
iat
ion.

⁴
Br
iefMet
hods:
Thi
smi
nipr
oposal
empl
oyami
xed-
met
hodsappr
oach:

1.Lit
erat
ureReview:Acomprehensi
verev
iewofacademi
cli
ter
atur
e,l
egal
text
s,and
gover
nmentr
epor
tsrel
atedt
oShariacour
tsi
nEthi
opia.

2.LegalAnalysi
s:Exami
nat
ionofr
elev
antl
awsandpol
i
ciesgov
erni
ngt
heoper
ati
on
ofShar
iacour
ts.

nt
3.I er
v i
ews/Survey
s:Col
lect
ionofqual
it
ati
vedat
afrom keyst
akeholder
s,i
ncl
udi
ng
j
udges,
lawyer
s,communi
tyl
eaders,
andli
ti
gantswhohaveengagedwithShari
acour
ts.

4.Ca seStudies:Anal
ysi
sofspeci
fi
ccasesadj
udi
cat
edbyShar
iacour
tst
oil
l
ust
rat
e
thei
rfunct
ioni
ngandchall
enges.

St
atementofPr
obl
emsI
dent
if
icat
ion
Despi
tet
hei
rimpor
tance,
Shar
iacour
tsi
nEt
hiopi
aencount
ersev
eral
chal
l
enges:

Juri
sdi
cti
onal
Confl
ict
s:Ther
eisoftenambi
guit
yregar
dingthej
uri
sdi
cti
onofShari
a
cour
tsver
sussecul
arcour
ts,
leadi
ngtoconf
li
ctsandconfusi
onamonglit
igant
s.

Li
mitedRecognit
ion:Thelegal
st at
usofShari
acourt
sisnotunif
orml
yrecogni
zed
acr
ossallr
egions,af
fecti
ngtheirauthor
it
yandeff
ecti
veness.

Chall
engesinI
mplementat
ion:
Issuessuchaslackofresour
ces,i
nadequat
et r
aini
ngf
or
j
udges,andsoci
etal
att
it
udestowardsShari
alawhindertheeff
ecti
vefunct
ioni
ngof
thesecour
ts.

GenderI
nequali
ty:Concernsexi
str
egar
dingt
heapplicat
ionofShar
ial
awi
nrel
ati
ont
o
women'sri
ghts,part
icul
arl
yinmatt
ersofmarr
iageandinh

I
nher
it
anceDisput
es:
Confl
ict
sov erthedi
str
ibuti
onofadeceasedper
son'
sestat
e,
wher
efamil
ymember smaydisagreeonthei
rright
ful
shar
esaccordi
ngtoI
slam.

⁵
 Mai
nBody
/Anal
ysi
s:
A.Jur
isdi
cti
onofShar
iaCour
ts
¹Shar
iacour t
sinEthiopiaoperateunderadual l
egalsy st
em wherebothsecularand
rel
igi
ouslawscoexi st.²The1995Const i
tut
ionrecognizesrel
igi
ousf r
eedom butdoes
notexpl
icitl
ydefi
net hej ur
isdi
cti
onalboundar
iesbetweensecul arandrel
igi
ouscourt
s.
Thisambi gui
tyoft
enl eadst oj
uri
sdict
ionaldi
sputes,especi
all
yincaseswher e
overl
appingissuesarise.

B.Funct
ionsofShar
iaCour
ts
Di
sput
eResol
uti
on:Expl
orat
ionofhowShar
iacour
tsr
esol
veper
sonal
disput
es
wit
hi ntheMusl i
m communi t
y.TheDisputeResoluti
onfuncti
onofaShariacourtrefers
toitsroleinresolvi
ngdisput
esbetweenpar t
iesbasedonI sl
amiclaw(Sharia)
.Shar i
a
courtsaret y
picall
yfoundincountr
ieswhereIslamiclawisthedominantlegalsystem,
andt heyhandleav ari
etyofcases,
includi
ngfami l
ymatters,
inher
it
ancedisputes,and
personal st
atusissues.

I
naShariacour
t,di
sput
esar
eresol
vedbyappl
yi
ngt
hepr
inci
plesandt
eachi
ngsof
I
slami
claw.

Thecourt'
sdecisi
onsar ebasedont
heint
erpr
etat
ionoft
heQur
an,Hadi
th(
sayingsand
act
ionsoftheProphetMuhammad) ,
Ij
ma(consensusamongI
slami
cschol
ars)
,and
Qiy
as(anal
ogicalreasoni
ng).

Shari
acourtisimportantinprovi
dingalegalfr
amewor kt
hatisconsi
stentwi t
ht he
rel
igi
ousbeli
efsandv aluesoftheMuslim communi ty.I
thel
pstoensuret hatdisputes
areresol
vedinamannert hati
sfairandjust
,whilealsoupholdi
ngtheprincipl
esof
Isl
amiclaw.
Itisimportanttonotethatthespecif
icpracti
cesandprocedur esofShar i
a
courtsmayvarydependi ngonthecount r
yanditslegalsyst
em.Insomecases, Sharia
courtsmaywor kinconjuncti
onwithsecularcourt
s.

_
___
___
___
___
___
¹Anint
roduct
iont
oIsl
ami
cLaw.
²FDRECo1995.
C.
Chal
l
engesFacedbyShar
iaCour
ts
Shari
acourt
sfaceanumberofchal
l
engesintheireff
ort
stouphol
dIsl
amicl
awand
prov
idealegal
framewor
kthati
sconsi
stentwit
ht hebel
ief
sandval
uesofMusl
i
m
communiti
es.

Someoft
hekeychal
l
engesf
acedbyShar
iacour
tsi
ncl
ude:

Bal
anci
ngr
eli
giousandsecul
arl
aws:I
ncount
ri
eswher
eShar
ial
awi
sappl
i
ed
alongsi
desecul
arlaws,ther
ecanbeconf l
ict
sbetweenthetwol
egalsystems.³Shari
a
courtsmayfacechall
engesinbalanci
ngthepri
ncipl
esofIsl
ami
clawwi t
hthe
requir
ementsofsecul
arlaws,suchasthoserel
atedtohumanri
ghtsandcivi
lli
bert
ies.

Ensur
ingf
airandi
mpar
ti
alj
ust
ice:
⁴Shar
iacour
tsmustensur
ethatt
hei
rdeci
sions
arefairandimparti
al,
andthatt
heydonotdiscri
minat
eagainstanyparti
culargroupor
i
ndividual.
Thiscanbechall
engi
ngincaseswherethereareconfl
ict
ingi
nterpret
ati
onsof
Isl
ami claw,orwherether
earepol
it
ical
orsocialpr
essuresthatmayinf
luencethe
court'
sdecisions.

Pr
otect
ingt
her
ight
sofwomenandmi
nor
it
ies:⁵
Shar
iacour
tsmustensur
ethat
ther i
ghtsofwomenandmi nori
ti
esareprot
ected,andthattheyaretr
eatedwi t
hdigni
ty
andr espect.Thi
scanbechall
engi
ngincaseswher ether
ear econfl
i
ctingint
erpret
ati
ons
ofIslamiclaw,orwher
etherearecul
tur
alorsocialnormsthatmaydi scr
iminateagai
nst
certaingroups.

Mai
ntai
ningsoci
alcohesi
onandst
abi
l
ity
:Shar
iacour
tspl
ayacr
uci
alr
olei
n
mai
ntai
ningsoci
alcohesi
onandst
abi
l
itywi
thi
nMusl
i
m communi
ti
es.

Theymustensuret hatdisput
esar eresol
v edinamannert hati
sconsi st
entwi t
hIslamic
teachi
ngs,whi
lealsopromot i
ngsoci alj
usticeandpr otectingther i
ghtsofallmember s
ofthecommuni t
y.Shariacourtsfaceanumberofchal lengesint hei
reffor
tstouphold
Isl
amiclawandpr ovi
deal egalfr
amewor kt hatisfairandj ustforallmember softhe
communi t
y.Thesechallengesrequirecarefulconsiderati
onandacommi t
mentt o
upholdi
ngthepri
nciplesofjusti
ce,fair
ness, andrespectf ortherightsofalli
ndivi
duals.

_
___
___
___
___
___
___
_
³Shari
aLAW:Abi gi
nner'
sGui
de
⁴I
slami
cLegalSchoolatHar
var
dLawSchool
⁵A.
A.A Al
-Hamdi
 ⁷
Concl
usi
on
Shariacour tsplayav i
tal r
oleinaddr essingt hepersonal legal needsoft heMusl im
communi t
yi nEt hiopia.Thei rjuri
sdiction,functi
ons, andchal l
engesr efl
ectthe
compl exit
iesofi nt egratingreligi
ousl awwi t
hinapr edomi nant l
ysecul arl
egal f
ramework.
Under st
andi ngt hesedy nami csiscruci alforfoster
ingani ncl
usi v
el egalenvir
onment
thatrespectsr eligiousdi versit
ywhi leensur i
ngj ust
icef orallciti
zens.AsEt hiopia
conti
nuest oev olve, i
tisessent i
altoexplor eway stoenhancet heef f
ecti
venessand
recogniti
onofShar iacour ts,addressingt hechal l
engest heyf acewhi l
epromot i
ng
equit
abl eaccesst oj usticeforal l
member sofsociet y
.Howev er,theyfacesignifi
cant
chall
engest hathi ndert heireffecti
venessandr aisequest ionsaboutt hei
rintegrat
ion
i
ntot hebroaderl egal system.

Shariacour t
splayasignif
icantrol
ei nt helegalandsoci alfr
amewor kf ormanyMusl i
m
communi tiesbyprovidi
ngasy stem ofj usticeroot
edi nIslamicpri
nciples.Theyai mto
upholdjust ice,
prot
ectindivi
dual r
ights, andpromoteet hicalconductwhi leresolvi
ng
disputesi namannerconsi stentwi t
hr eligi
ousteachings.Byf ost
eri
ngr econcil
iat
ionand
communi tyv al
ues,Shar
iacourtscont ributetosocialhar monyandst abi l
it
y,addressi
ng
thelegal needsoftheiradherentswhi ler ei
nfor
cingthemor alandethical f
oundationsof
Isl
ami claw.

⁸
Pr
oposedSol
uti
ons
1.Cl
ari
fi
cat
ionofJur
isdi
cti
on:
Legi
slat
ivemeasur
esshoul
dbet
akent
ocl
ear
ly
defi
nethejur
isdi
cti
onal
boundar
iesbet
weenShar
iacour
tsandsecul
arcour
tst
opr
event
confl
ict
s.

2.Capaci
tyBui
l
ding:
Inv
est
menti
ntr
aini
ngpr
ogr
amsf
orj
udgesandcour
tper
sonnel
t
oenhancet
hei
runder
standi
ngofbot
hIsl
ami
clawandEt
hiopi
anl
egal
pri
nci
ples.

3.GenderSensit
izati
on:Ini
ti
ati
vesaimedatpromotinggenderequal
i
tywi
thi
nthe
appl
i
cat
ionofShar
ialawtoensurethatwomen'
sright
sareprotect
ed.

4.Communit
yEngagement
:Encouragi
ngdial
oguebet
weenMuslim communit
iesand
gover
nmentaut
hori
ti
est
ofosterunder
standi
ngandsuppor
tfort
her ol
eofShari
acourt
s.

⁹
Ref
erences
1.Feder
alDemocrati
cRepubl
icofEt
hiopi
a(1995)
.Const
it
uti
onoft
heFeder
al
Democrati
cRepubli
cofEthi
opia.

2.Abdur
rahman,A.
,Haj
i,M.(
2018)
."TheRol
eofI
slami
cLawi
nEt
hiopi
anLaw.
"
*Jour
nalofLawandRel
i
gion*
.

3.Mohammed,A.,Ali,
S.(
2020)."
Shari
aCourt
sinEthi
opi
a:Chal
l
engesand
Oppor
tuni
ti
es.
"*Afr
icanJour
nalofLegalSt
udi
es*.

4.Wor
ldBank(
2019)
."Women’
sRi
ght
sinEt
hiopi
a:ARevi
ewofLegalFr
amewor
ks.

¹
⁰