MEKELLE UNIVERSTY

COLLEGE OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE

SCHOOL OF

Production of Evidence in Ethiopia, Legal and Practical Challenges

On Speedy Justice
Case Study: In Asosa Zone Selected Justice Machineries

By: Abadi G/Michael

Advisor: Ato G/Meskel Hailu (LL.B, LL.M)

Background
History tells us evidence started to be used from the time when people began to own individual
property. On the other hand, form the time where people stated to live together and started to
acquire private property, and started to enter transaction different disputed cases emerged. The
reason is that, conflict of interest emerged over personally owned properties. Several people may
have claim over the same property. In a primitive society though there is no organized justice
machinery like as today, dispute had been resolved by elders using different dispute resolution
mechanisms or traditional ways of solving disputes. At the same time, the elders were acting as
judges and started to apply mechanisms of evidence as a means of proving or disproving the
alleged facts.
The signification of evidence was distinguished in the ancient Romans, Mesopotamian,
Egyptians, Indians, and they were among the ancient civilizations which have contribution for
the development of evidence.
However, under those civilizations, evidence was not categorized in to civil and criminal case. In
addition to this, they used to relate evidence with their religion. Accordingly, they used to prove
facts through irrational means of proof such as ordinal. As per their belief, super natural force or
God is assumed to protect innocent persons from being injured in the painful means of proving.
Later on, the modern from of evidence, for proving or disproving the alleged facts began to
develop with in the Justinian law which is said to have served as a source of civil law legal
system.3
In Ethiopia the historical development of evidence was manifested through the traditional means
of proving or disproving facts that had been long existed. Those traditions manses were different
from culture to culture. The Justinian law of evidence was introduced in to Ethiopia during the
reign of emperor Zeray-Yaikabe. Its first version was on Arabic which was translated in to Geez
by an Egyptian scholar called peters and actually this is what we call Fetha-Negast. Therefore,
todays Ethiopian evidence law is the hybrid of common law and civil legal system. 5 This is so
because Ethiopia does not have yet codified evidence law but found scattered in the substantive
and procedural laws. Our substantive law is taken from civil law legal system while the
procedural law comes from the common law legal system.

The course evidence law in general is a course that is given to many students of legal education
in the present higher education institutions including Mekelle University. It has become a
common understanding that this course enables students to acquire sufficient knowledge about
how to entertain evidence in court, how to entertain witnesses in court or generally how to
administer evidences in court and other justice machineries and how to bring smooth flow of
case and how to provide speedy justice to the society by combating delay of cases by applying
appropriate evidences and how to avoid delay of justice.
There are different factors that contribute for the dalliances of justice which makes difficult to
provide speed justice to the society. These factors can be seen from different perspectives; it may
be practical impediments or legal impediments. The challenges to oral production of evidence
and related problems in criminal cases could fall in both legal and practical problems that can
contribute for the dalliance of justice and absence of speedily justice. Therefore, the winter of
this term paper tried his best identify legal and practical impediments in relation to production of
oral evidence in criminal case which contributes for the dalliance of justice in ASSOSA zone
courts and recommend some points as possible solution for such problems.
Based on the above fact, the writer engaged in the institution those have close ties with hearing
of evidenced management of oral evidence in criminal cases. Finally come up with this term pap
The first chapter of this term paper deals with general overview, classification of evidence,
definition of evidence in criminal cases
The second chapter of this term paper deal with oral evidence in criminal cases, oral evidence in
general ,meaning and nature of oral evidence, history of witnessing in criminal cases
,Qualifications necessary to be a witness, child witness credibility of witness ,credibility and the
weight of evidence ,eye witness testimony, competency of witness, oaths and affirmation of
witness, grounds of incompetency, examination of witnesses, privilege of witness, hearsay
evidence ,and an expert evidence ,in oral evidence in criminal cases and other related such titles.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Law of evidence is very broad concept which may be unmanageable without a single codified
law. This problem is reflected in the civil law legal system countries including Ethiopia. As it is
known, the substantive and procedural laws are emanated from civil law and common low legal
system countries. But common low legal system countries have codified evidence law whereas
the civil law legal system countries do not have codified evidence law.
Therefore, Ethiopian law of evidence is; as part of the civil law legal system; there is no codified
or organized law of evidence. In Ethiopia law of evidence is found in different substantive,
procedural, proclamation and the supreme law of the country. But what we lack is organized
material, hence, in Ethiopia there is no a single codified law of evidence which governs: the
procedures in evidence production, the burden of proof, competency of witnesses and types of
evidence and these weight.
But this does not mean Ethiopia does not have evidence law. Wealth of evidence law rules in
Ethiopia is to be found in different laws as it is mentioned in the above.
In addition to the above stated problems, as the writer understand from the analysis of the
questionnaires, from the sample courts, the following problems are also born because of lack of a
single codified evidence law in Ethiopia; Lack of uniform rule of producing evidence in courts
and other justice machineries. Courts also suffered from lack of uniform way weighing
evidences: Relevant evidence may be lost or damaged because there is no law which dictates
how to handle evidence, the society is ignored of how to produce evidence, when to produce it,
what kind of evidence to produce. Thus, the society could not exercise its rights and obligations
in relation to the production of evidences. This lack of co-ordination of the society in the
production of evidence, intern creates a real delay of justice.
It is difficult and time taking to find out the relevant evidence rules from the scattered rules of
evidence. Courts and other justices machineries consume their precious time.
Because of the above lack of codified evidence law born problems, courts may on the hand reach
unjust decisions which in turn result in lack of public trust on the courts for the reason of
delaines and injustice.

The point is that the scattered rules of evidence are not complete and organized and, hence,
judges are forced to resort to a widely organized which opens a door for delay and backlog
because the nature of the evidence law by itself call a huge time.
This is the greatest problem that the writer believes that Ethiopia has a problem in relation to
production of evidence.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
In order to address the above problem, this research will attempt to answer principally one big
question:
What is the implication of productions of evidence in Ethiopia; legal and practical
challenges on speedy justice in ASOSA zone?
To tackle this grand question, the researcher will also try to pose some other specific questions:
What is the stand of the Ethiopian laws on production of evidence?
The legal and practical challenges of production of evidence on speedy justice?
What are the challenges of production of oral evidence in Ethiopia?
JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESERCH
In the Asosa zone specially in Asosa town there is a problem of the production of evidence, legal
and practical challenges on speedy justice. When these states of affairs are evaluated in view of
the laws which recognize the society both at national and international level, it vividly goes
against these laws.
It is also the problem of production of oral evidence in criminal case and the challenges of on
speedy justice has an impact on social, economic and political right of the society. In the
presence of such fact, we comprehend that there is no as such research that had been done on
production of evidence in criminal case, legal and practical challenges on speedy justice that
exists in Asosa zone. As a result, we are inspired carry out this research so as to scrutinize the
impacts of on some select of the society. According to this research view point it would have
been so impressive to study the prevalence and the practical challenges on speedy justice.

OBJECTIVE OF THE RESERCH

GENERAL OBJECTIVE
By studying the production of evidence in Ethiopia, legal and practical challenges on speedy
justice case study in ASOSA zone selected justice machineries

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE
enacting a single codified law of evidence
introducing modern technology assisting production of evidence
Giving awareness creation, trainings related to production of evidence for justice
machinereries and the public at large
Finally, the researcher aimed to make the concerned organs aware of the existing
problems of production evidence and its influence on speedy justice.

METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH

This research is an exploratory research and research methodology to be used is a doctrinal and
social research methodology. The research will collect different court cases, documents and
different evidence. In de-peth interviews will be conducted with judges, prosecutor, police
officers, attorneys, regional and local justice bureaus.
In order to gather relevant data for the research, the researcher will be selecting the capital city of
Benshangul Gumuz, ASOSA zone.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The research will have both legal and social significance. In legal significance related to its role
in the implementation of the provision of the constitution as well as other domestic and
international human rights laws dealing with production of evidence affairs. This research will
serve as a spring board to other researches on the area. It will have something to feed the policy
makers and law enforcing agencies based on the results derived from the conclusion of the
research.
The social significance on the other hand to its contribution in identifying the real impact of in
the legal and practical production of evidence.

SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

Evidence is a broader concept which includes oral evidence in criminal case and its effect on
speedy justice tends to focus of this research.