Reproductive Rights (Fall 2009)
Project Description: Although Ethiopia has one of the most progressive abortion laws in Africa, U.S. foreign policy plays a significant role in limiting access to safe abortion services in Ethiopia, due to the impact of the Helms Amendment and confusion regarding the recent rescinding of the Global Gag Rule. The Leitner Clinic partnered with Ethiopian masters of law students and faculty at Addis Ababa Law School, with the guidance of the international reproductive rights organization IPAS, to research and draft a report on this issue, which it distributed to members of Congress, USAID, and NGOs in Ethiopia and the United States. Leitner Clinic students Tashmin Ali (`10), David Ashley (`10), and Ndidi Ngboeli (`10) and three Ethiopian students researched the topic throughout the semester and conducted joint fieldwork in Awassa and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in November 2009. The Clinic published and distributed the report, “Exporting Confusion: U.S. Foreign Policy as an Obstacle to the Implementation of Ethiopia’s Liberalized Abortion Law” in May 2010.
Constitutional Interpretation (Spring 2008)
Project Description: In spring 2008, the Leitner Clinic partnered with Addis Ababa Law School to produce a joint report on the system of non-judicial constitutional review in Ethiopia and its practical implications on human rights in the country. The joint Leitner Clinic-Addis Ababa Law School team consisted of Fordam Law students Sarah Braasch (`09), Melisa Morgan (`08), and Felice Segura (`08) and Ethiopian Masters of Law (LLM) students Teramed Tezera and Aron Degol and was co-supervised by Prof. Chi Mgbako and Ethiopian Prof. Fikremarkos Merso of Addis Ababa Law School.
Partner Organization: Addis Ababa Law School is Ethiopia’s premier law school and the heart of the legal education community in the country. Leitner Clinic students and Addis Ababa Law School LLM students who participated in the project spent the semester jointly researching the human rights issues surrounding the system of constitutional interpretation in Ethiopia through conferencing and email and completed joint investigative fieldwork in Addis Ababa. The partnership fostered engagement between American and Ethiopian law students on important human rights issues in Ethiopia and contributed to the dialogue regarding justice sector reform in Ethiopia.
The opportunity to work with Ethiopian law students from Addis Ababa University was fantastic. Because of our partnership, this experience not only provided a window into Ethiopian law and politics, it also demanded that we analyze Ethiopia’s political and legal structure from an Ethiopian perspective.” -Sarah Braasch (’09)
Description of Fieldwork: In March 2008, the Leitner Clinic traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where, together with their Ethiopian counterparts, they conducted interviews for their report. The joint Leitner Clinic-Addis Ababa Law School team interviewed Ethiopian lawyers, human rights defenders, judges, constitutional law scholars, representatives at the Ministry of Justice and House of Federation, and the legal adviser to the Prime Minister.
Project Outcome: The Leitner Clinic and Addis Ababa Law School produced a joint report, “Silencing the Ethiopian Courts: Non-Judicial Constitutional Review and its Impact on Human Rights,” which was published in the Fordham International Law Journal. The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia provides broad protection for human rights. However, the House of Federation (HOF), a quasi-parliamentary political organ that represents the political interests of Ethiopia’s ethnic groups, is mandated to interpret the constitution. When a constitutional dispute arises courts must forward the case to the HOF, a non-judicial body, for adjudication. The joint report argues that this system of non-judicial constitutional review has resulted in a lack of human rights jurisprudence, severely weakened the judiciary’s power to check the constitutional excesses of the other branches of government, and resulted in an inefficient system that precludes access to justice. The joint report advocates for constitutional and judicial reforms that will result in an independent, organized, and efficient system of judicial review in Ethiopia.
