Inter-Federal-Regional Conflict Resolution Mechanisms in Ethiopian Federacy: A Comparative Appraisal on the Legal and Institutional Frameworks

Abstract

The FDRE Constitution, formally, establishes federal form of state structure on the basis of ethno-territorial-linguistic criteria according to which nine regional states have been formed. Federalism, in turn, institutionalizes the division of power between federal and regional states that may render inter-governmental disputes in their interactions inevitably. The possibility of inter-governmental disputes, thus, necessitates the institutionalized inter-governmental dispute resolution mechanisms between these two tiers of governments. Being informed of federal characteristics, the Constitution extends the legislative, executive and judicial powers both for federal and regional governments. In equal footing, the Constitution further provides that both federal and regional states shall respect the power of one another. And the federal government may, whenever necessary, delegate to the states the power and functions granted to it by article 51 of the Constitution; leaving residual power (power given neither exclusively to either of them or concurrently to both of them) under the exclusive competence of the regional states. Though both federal and regional governments are constitutionally vested with different power and supposed to act distinctively and independently, overlapping of power between the two levels of governments is self-evident eventually. Be what it may, the FDRE Constitution has no specific provision dealing with intergovernmental relations in general and federal-regional dispute resolution mechanisms in particular though it is of crucial importance to subsist prime values of federalism and overcome the possibilities of intergovernmental disputes pragmatically. The objective of this article is, thus, to examine legal and institutional frameworks for federal-regional intergovernmental dispute resolution mechanisms in Ethiopian federacy and draw the conclusion that the necessity of having the institutionalized federal-regional intergovernmental dispute resolution mechanisms. In doing so, the article has employed comparative means and analysis of the related legal documents. To this end, the experiences of Kenyan, Nigerian and South African have been consulted so as they are found with the best lessons and practices in comparison. Finally, the article found out that there has been a need to have Federal-Regional Dispute Settlement Mechanism beyond board in Ethiopia.