http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/issue/feed Bahir Dar University Journal of Law 2025-05-30T10:57:12+02:00 Nega Ewunetie Mekonnen (PhD) beleteeng@yahoo.com Open Journal Systems <p><em>Bahir Dar University Journal of Law </em>(BDU Journal of Law) is a peer-reviewed legal periodical published bi-annually in June and December every year since 2010. &nbsp;The <em>Journal </em>aims to create a forum for the scholarly analysis of Ethiopian law and to promote research in legal science in general. Accordingly, legal professionals (legal scholars, legal practitioners, judges and prosecutors) and others who would like to contribute their own share to the betterment of the Ethiopian legal system in particular and the legal jurisprudence in general are all cordially invited.&nbsp;&nbsp;Manuscript submissions may bein the form of scholarly <em>articles, notes, reflections, case comments </em>and <em>book reviews. </em>Manuscript will go through double blind review process- those that meet publishability standard, according to the criteria set in the editorial policy, a shall be published.&nbsp;</p> http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2737 Trade Unionism in the Ethiopian Industrial Zones 2025-05-29T15:40:09+02:00 Belayneh Admasu badmaasu7@gmail.com <p>Freedom of association of workers is expressly recognized as a human<br>right in national, regional, and international human rights instruments.<br>International Labour Organization (ILO) instruments, most notably<br>Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to<br>Organize and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective<br>Bargaining, expressly recognize workers' freedom of association.<br>Though Ethiopia recognizes freedom of association of workers, the<br>country's trade unionism movement is quite restricted in practice. This<br>study explored the trend of workers unionization in Bahir Dar Industrial<br>Zone. To attain the goals of the study, normative and empirical data<br>were generated through evaluation of legal documents, relevant<br>literature review, and sustained conversations with workers, union<br>leaders, and management of undertakings operating in the study area.<br>The data were analyzed using descriptive and thematic data analysis<br>techniques. The findings of the study reveal that the majority of workers<br>in Bahir Dar Industrial Zone are not unionized due to the resistance of<br>employers to allow workers to organize. Even the established unions fail<br>to sufficiently protect the interests of their members due to<br>inaccessibility of facilities, absence of cooperation on the part of<br>employers, undue influence by employers against leaders of employees, limited collaboration among member workers, and low commitment on<br>the part of union leaders. Based on such findings, the authors provide<br>possible recommendations.</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c) 2024 Bahir Dar University http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2739 Challenges and Opportunities of Consumer Protection in the WTO Legal Framework 2025-05-30T10:22:16+02:00 Saleamlak Yemane saleamlaky86@gmail.com <p>Consumer protection is a key aspect of modern economies that<br>safeguards consumer rights against unfair practices and unsafe<br>products, especially in the context of global business interactions. The<br>World Trade Organization (WTO), widely charged with such<br>responsibilities, has been criticized for being overly producer-centered.<br>This paper examines such challenges of the consumer protection<br>regulatory framework of the WTO, particularly targeting consumer<br>protection provisions such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and<br>Trade (GATT), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT),<br>and the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). In<br>light of the examinations of these provisions, the paper critically<br>assesses Ethiopia’s legal and institutional capacity to implement these<br>rules, considering its limited resources and infrastructure. Through<br>qualitative analysis and an exploratory review of literature, and<br>Ethiopia’s trade-related laws, the paper found out that while the WTO<br>offers some consumer protection mechanisms, they are often vague and<br>impose stringent procedural requirements, which are difficult to fulfill<br>for developing countries like Ethiopia. Finally, the paper concludes by<br>offering policy recommendations for Ethiopia, emphasizing the need for<br>a stronger legal and institutional framework, enhanced technical<br>expertise, and effective dispute resolution mechanisms to ensure that trade liberalization benefits do not come at the expense of consumer<br>welfare.&nbsp;</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c) http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2740 A Comparative Analysis of Bank Security in A Letter of Credit Transactions 2025-05-30T10:32:50+02:00 Adam Denekew adulaw@gmail.com <p>This article examines the security of banks using bills of lading as<br>collateral in letter of credit transactions with a focus on proprietary and<br>contractual rights. The exploration employs doctrinal tools of<br>comparative analysis. Juxtaposing the features of English and Ethiopian<br>laws, the investigation unraveled issues, such as proprietary and<br>contractual rights, banks’ ability to claim delivery or sue carriers, and<br>the legal consequences of these issues. The evidences from the<br>comparative analysis show that the English law clearly sanctions<br>prejudicial legal consequences on banks whereas the Ethiopian law<br>leaves outcomes ambiguous. Further, the exploration reveals that the<br>validity of security interest may be challenged if goods are delivered<br>before the bill reaches the bank. Yet this is treated as spent under<br>Ethiopian law, in contrast to the case law under English law. Both<br>jurisdictions require the transferor to hold title, potentially invalidating<br>the bank’s security if the seller lacks title. Besides, the English law<br>considers the intention of parties in transferring title via bills, while<br>Ethiopian law lack such clarity. The financing bank’s temporary release<br>of the bill of lading in return for trust receipts further undermines its<br>security under both legal systems. Finally, pledging bills of lading as<br>collateral may leave banks as unsecured creditors, questioning the<br>perceived reliability of this security mechanism.</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c) http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2741 Minimum Wage, Human Rights, and State Responsibility 2025-05-30T10:47:05+02:00 Michael Mengistu mengistumichael@gmail.com <p>Minimum wage is one of the major subjects of concern and debate for<br>international institutions and national stakeholders. The primary<br>objective behind the debate and concern over this subject is about<br>protecting workers from poverty and exploitation. More than 90% of<br>ILO member countries have set a minimum wage for their workers.<br>However, the notion of minimum wage is not without controversies.<br>Some developing States are reluctant to set a minimum wage and a few<br>even argue against it stating that it would push away foreign direct<br>investment (FDI) which has become a principal driving force behind job<br>creation in these countries. On the other hand, the protagonists of<br>minimum wage argue that minimum wage is a fundamental labor right<br>which ensures adequate life for workers.<br>Ethiopia has not set a minimum wage for its private sector workers<br>while it adopted a legislative framework in 2019 to set up a Wage Board<br>which would determine minimum wages. Nevertheless, the State is not<br>realizing the envisaged activities of the Wage Board which are expected<br>to lead to a minimum wage regime. This, among other factors, is due to<br>the fear that setting a minimum wage would adversely affect flow of<br>FDI, job creation, and the country’s post war economy. Ethiopia is a<br>party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural<br>Rights where various rights including the right to a decent way of life,<br>food, clothing, and housing are recognized as fundamental human<br>rights. The paper raises the question as whether Ethiopia, by ignoring the question for a minimum wage law for private sector workers, is<br>violating its obligations under international human rights law. The<br>paper further tries to answer this question by looking into the nature of<br>economic, social, and cultural rights and analyzing State’s obligations<br>under human rights instruments. In doing so, it employed a doctrinal<br>approach to define the notion of minimum wage and to delineate the<br>debate around the concept. It then analyzes the stance of the Ethiopian<br>government on the issue mainly from official speeches and<br>commentaries that are publicly available in line with international<br>human rights law and provide recommendations.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c) http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2743 Towards Addressing the Challenges of Holding or Postponing Elections during Emergencies 2025-05-30T10:57:12+02:00 Misganaw Gashaw bezam2022@gmail.com <p>This article explores the potential role of election emergency laws in<br>effectively holding or postponing elections during emergencies within<br>the electoral system of Ethiopia. Inspired by the legal and political<br>challenges that arose due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on<br>the eagerly anticipated 2020 election, the article essentially examines<br>three key incidents: (1) how the federal government postponed the<br>election through constitutional interpretation, despite opposition from<br>politicians and scholars advocating for other alternatives within and<br>outside the Constitution; (2) how the Tigray Regional Government, one<br>of the federating units, held regional elections during emergencies in<br>defiance of the federal government’s decision to postpone the election;<br>and (3) how the federal government later conducted national and<br>regional elections while the pandemic was still ongoing. Findings from<br>doctrinal examinations reveal that the decisions to hold or postpone<br>elections during emergencies were driven by political interests and<br>operationalized under the regular election laws and institutional<br>frameworks, rather than by clear and specific laws and authorities to<br>determine who should decide on holding or postponing elections and<br>how to conduct elections during emergencies. This has attracted several<br>legal questions and political tensions. Thus, based on experiences from<br>other countries, the article proposes an amendment to the Constitution to incorporate holdover clauses and Proclamation No. 1162/2019 to<br>include a provision that could address election emergencies and<br>empower electoral bodies to manage the holding or postponement of<br>elections during emergencies.&nbsp;</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c) http://journals.bdu.edu.et/index.php/bdujl/article/view/2742 Death Penalty in Theories and Ideologies of Criminal Justice 2025-05-30T10:52:32+02:00 Bebizuh Mulugeta babimulugeta@gmail.com <p>Death penalty is one of the most contentious subject of ethical,<br>ideological and policy debate in criminal jurisprudence. This debate is<br>largely reflected in the varying positions taken by schools of thought<br>and ideological camps over the causes of crimes and purpose of<br>criminal punishment. Two theoretical schools of thought namely, the<br>classical and the positivist schools, and three political ideologies<br>predominate the scholarly debate thereby including criminal justice<br>polices and laws of different countries over the ages. This paper aims<br>to briefly examine the Ethiopian criminal law on death penalty in light<br>of the dominant theories and ideologies of criminal justice. While the<br>existence of death penalty in Ethiopia is against the classical as well as<br>positivist school, the legal limitations on the imposition and execution<br>of death penalty exhibit a mixture of classical and positivist schools. On<br>the ideological dimension, the Ethiopian criminal law blends<br>conservative and liberal ideology.</p> 2024-12-07T00:00:00+01:00 Copyright (c)