Bahir Dar University Journal of Law

Print-Disabled Persons’ Right to Access to Copyrighted Works in Ethiopia: An Appraisal of Ethiopian Copyright Law in Light of the Marrakesh Treaty

Asrar Adem Gebeyehu — 2020-12-01

Print-disabled persons face barriers to access the accessible format of copyrighted materials in their day-to-day life due to copyright law restraints. Since copyright laws provide to the owners of a work an exclusive economic right including the right to reproduction, distribution, adaptation, and making available to the public, print-disabled persons face difficulties in getting the accessible format of works. This results in the violation of various human rights including the right to access to information, the right to read, the right to education, the right to participate in cultural life, the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress, and the right to employment. With the view of establishing normative standards, the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print- Disabled was adopted in June 2013. The primary goal of this Treaty is to facilitate the accessibility of copyrighted works for print-disabled persons in an accessible format by eliminating copyright law barriers. The Treaty realizes the significance of the international copyright system and intends to ensure that the limitations and exceptions in national copyright laws allow print-disabled persons access to published works. Ethiopia has ratified this Treaty on March 13, 2020, to improve access to copyrighted works for print-disabled persons in the country. This article, thus, intends to make a critical appraisal of the preparedness of the national copyright law regime for the effective implementation of the Treaty. The study employs doctrinal legal research and focuses on identification and analysis of the national copyright law regime in light of the Marrakesh Treaty. Finally, the study concludes that the existing national copyright law of Ethiopia is inadequate in realizing the obligations stated under the Marrakesh Treaty. This article, therefore, recommends the amendment of the national copyright law to make it comprehensive and enhance the effective implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty in Ethiopia.

Adjudication of Tax Disputes within the Tax Authority in Ethiopia: Critical Reflections on the Law and the Practice

Aschalew Ashagre Byness — 2020-12-01

The experiences of various countries clearly demonstrate that the tax authority is vested with adjudication of tax disputes arising between taxpayers and itself when a taxpayer does not accept the decision of the authority. In Ethiopia, the 2016 Federal Tax Administration Proclamation (hereinafter FTAP) has unequivocally provided that if a taxpayer is aggrieved by a tax decision of the tax authority and if he wants to challenge that decision, he is compelled to take his grievance to the Review Department of the Tax Authority- an authority accountable to the Ministry of Revenues, which itself is the successor of the former Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA). Before the coming into force of the FTAP, taking a tax case to the Review Committee of ERCA was not mandatory while the FTAP has clearly provided that taking a tax case to the Review Department is mandatory. This shows that the role of the Review Department has become more influential on the taxpayer as compared to its predecessor- the Review Committee. Therefore, it is imperative now to investigate the review power of the Department and the overall process of tax dispute resolution within the tax authority. This piece is, therefore, aimed at critically examining the process of tax dispute resolution at the Review Department of the Tax Authority at federal level. This study has found out that there are certain meaningful improvements made by the FTAP that enhance access to justice to the taxpayer and the fairness of the process. Nevertheless, the study has revealed several shortcomings in the FTAP including lack of clearly defined scope of review power of the Review Department; absence of clear provisions dealing with appointment, composition and removal of members of the Review Department; absence of unequivocally articulated right to be heard before the Review Department; that FTAP does not seem to have given sufficient time to taxpayers to lodge an application and that it has not provided exceptional circumstances where the tax authority should bear burden of proof. Therefore, the author recommends that the problems identified needs to be addressed by amending the FTAP.

Viability of Private Prison Policy in Ethiopia

Bereket Eshetu — 2020-12-01

International bills of rights address the treatment of detainees concerning their dignity. The 2011 criminal justice policy of Ethiopia also calls for decent treatment of detainees and inmates. However, study reports indicate that the existing condition of detainees and inmates in Ethiopia fails to comply with the minimum expected treatment level. They tend to suffer from high levels of overcrowding, lack of separate accommodation (based on sex, age, illness, and nature of the offender), severe occurrences of disease, malnutrition, and unhygienic conditions, absence of organized education and training platforms, and no hearing mechanism. This article attempted to assess the viability of private prisons, in Ethiopia, serving as an alternative public prison system, similar to approaches found in other nations namely, the United States, United Kingdom, and South Africa. A qualitative research approach was employed in collecting and analyzing data. The findings revealed that there could be room for having correctional privatization in Ethiopia in addition to the utilization of alternatives to incarceration.

Agricultural Investment Land Acquisition in Times of Emergency in Ethiopia: The Case of Land Delivery to Respond to COVID-19 in Amhara Region

Alelegn Wenedem Agegnehu — 2020-12-01

The outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis has been affecting the food and agricultural production sector. As part of responding this challenge, the Amhara region has issued a new Directive on the acquisition of land for agricultural investment. However, this measure is criticized for its incompatibility with the regular rural land and investment laws, and its inadequacy to deal with the land use rights of the local people. The purpose of this article was, thus, to examine the content of pandemic induced Directive on agricultural investment land acquisition modality in line with the regular rural land and investment laws, and impacts of the deviation made by the Directive from the regular laws on local land use rights. A doctrinal legal research method is employed to examine the stated purpose. The FDRE Constitution, rural land laws, investment laws, and other relevant legislations are used as primary data sources. A key informant interview has also been conducted with rural land investment experts working at BoLAU of the Amhara Region. Additionally, the existing body of literature in the form of policies, manuals, books, and articles in the area is scrutinized as secondary data sources. The paper argues that the Directive liberalizes existing land acquisition requirements and procedures through promoting irregularity, and recognizes easy and speedy processes of land acquisition for agricultural investment, which contributes to the trouble of local land use rights. Therefore, it is better to develop the agricultural investment land acquisition framework that keeps local land use rights in balance during emergency times. In so doing, the regional government has to provide a rule that empowers local land users and obliges investors to conduct EIA of the project to mitigate the future risk of the investment in agriculture.

Jola Gjuzi, Stabilization Clauses in International Investment Law: A Sustainable Development Approach (Springer Publishing, Switzerland, April 2018), E-document, ISBN 978-3-319-97232-9, 545 PP, Price 117.69

Mulugeta Akalu — 2020-12-01