This is a follow up on the post ‘Conceptions of Access to Justice’. It seeks to outline the international human rights framework on ‘the right to access to justice’ and briefly set out a monitoring framework capable of measuring the extent to which the right has been realized in a given national jurisdiction. Hopefully, this would lay the basis for consideration of the state of access to justice in the Ethiopian context in upcoming posts.

This piece aims to highlight the link between good governance and democracy. Examining the key components of both argues that the two concepts are indeed one and the same: ‘good governance’ is but a sanitized name for ‘democratic governance’. (I have to admit a dislike for the term ‘good governance’, which, for me, suggests that it is an option rather than an obligation tied to a set of fundamental rights.)

አገሬው ስለ ሕግ ሃያልነት ሲናገር "በሕግ አምላክ ሲባል እንኳን ሰው ወራጅ ውሃ ይቆማል" ይል ነበር፡፡ ሕግ ተፈጥሮንም እስከማቆም ሃይል እንዳለው አድርጎ ለመግለፅ ምን ዓይነት በሕግ የፀና እምነት ቢኖር ነበር ያስብላል፡፡ በሕግና ፍትሕ ላይ እምነት ያለው ሕዝብ ያለማንም አስገዳጅነት ለሕግ ተገዢ ነው፡፡ ክስተቶችንም ተከትሎ ለሕግ ያለውንም እምነት በተለያዬ መንገድ ይገልፃል፡፡ ግጭቶችን በጉልበት ከመፍታት በሕግ መፍታት ተመራጭ እንደሆነም ያምናል፡፡ በጉልበቱ አዳሪ ሲገጥመው ሰይፍን በሰይፍ ከመመለስ በሕግ አምላክ ቢል ይመርጣል፡፡ ከማትረባ ጉልበት በሕግ አምላክ ይሻላል የሚለውም ለዚህ ይመስላል፡፡ ስለዚህ የሕግ መከበር ሕበረተሰቡ ስለሕግና ፍትሕ ባለው አመለካከት ይወሰናል ማለት ነው፡፡ ሕግ በሕበረተሰቡ ውስጥ በሚፈለገው ደረጃ ለውጥ እንዲያመጣ ከተፈለገ እያንዳንዱ ሰው ስለሕግ ያለው አመለካከት አብሮ መመለወጥና ማደግ ይኖርበታል፡፡ ሕበረተሰቡ ለሕግና ፍትሕ ያለው አመለካከት ሁለት ነገሮችን ይገልፅልናል፡፡ በአንድ  በኩል ሕብረተሰቡ ስለሕግ ያለውን እምነት ሲገልፅልን በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ የሕግ መከበር ያለበትን ደረጃ ያሳየናል፡፡

The aim of this paper is to examine the key issues with regard rule of law in a narrower sense with the view and in comparison of the rule of compromise in non-western societies where the latter focuses on African nations. The issues of Awramba are peculiar to this paper. Asserting that this phenomenon is replicable, the paper underpins the various arguments highlighting the incorporation extent of the rule of law on indigenous traditions under the broader umbrella of the rule of compromise. Further, the paper addresses the necessity of reconciliation and restoration of harmony even in the African continent when its children breach the laws adjudicated by outsider law. In doing so, a little show on the Awramba’s experience of the rule of compromise and its footage in promoting development and stability will be reflected.