Officials Hint At Constitutional Court To Replace House Of Federation

Officials have hinted at the possibility of establishing a court to handle constitutional issues in place of the House of Federation.

While countries differ in the institutional approach to handling disputes arising from constitutional interpretation, in Ethiopia, such cases are presided over by the Council of Constitutional Enquiry at the House of Federation (HoF).

The Ethiopian constitution recognizes the upper house of parliament as the only entity with a mandate to interpret the constitution.

“Many have been questioning whether HoF can be free of political biases. Many also ask how cases that have been seen by courts can end up with HoF,” said Mitiku Mada, a member of the Council, while speaking at the fourth International Symposium of African Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions at AU headquarters on Friday.

“Based on these demands, we have been undertaking discussions and dialogue. The solution will be decided on,” he said, explaining that HoF relies on the supreme court and legal professionals to advise it on constitutional matters.

“If a decision is made on the need for a constitutional court, the possibility of shifting from HoF to a constitutional court in Ethiopia is not closed. It is possible,” said Mitiku.

Mitiku indicated the Council is currently handling several court cases that involve constitutional interpretation.

“For instance, there was tax law that states if officials of the Ministry of Revenue or Customs Commission make a decision on a particular tax case, then that is the ultimate decision and there can be no appeal. This is against the constitution so we exerted pressure to amend that law. There are many ongoing cases, including cases related to Tigray, property tax, and contradictory laws between the Addis Ababa [Administration] and the federal government,” he said.

The symposium Mitiku attended is held every four years to discuss ways forward for outstanding African constitutional cases. Delegates from over 22 African countries, and observers from Russia, Turkiye, Brazil, and Iran participated.

Speaking at the event, Mitiku also criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) system for what he describes as bias towards powerful governments in  intervening and pressuring powerless states.

“Officials from powerful countries who commit crimes are never tried, but officials of small and powerless countries are always detained. The African Union has to struggle and do a lot to reverse this and ensure justice,” he said.

However, Mitiku refrained from answering if Africa needs its own criminal court system.

Mitiku also stated many African governments fall because of the absence of constitutionalism.

“Many African countries have constitutions but lack constitutionalism. They also often fail in nation building aspirations, because we are in nascent stages when it comes to constitutionalism and institutionalism,” he said.