Supreme Court Amends Litigation Fees

Jul 15 , 2023


[ssba-buttons]

A new rule to update the almost half-century-old fees for court services was put forth by the Federal Supreme Court. The draft has 26 articles divided into six sections, covering a wide range of topics concerning court fees and payment methods, as well as recognising the basic core of the right to seek justice. Rahel Yohannes, assistant judge at the federal supreme court, observes that service fees collected from the courts do not cover the administrative costs noting the importance of revisiting prices to ensure the financial stability of the judiciary. Efforts to repeal the current court fee regulation has been started in 2021 after the supreme court hired consultants to address the concern. Basing the centrepiece on the findings of the consultants which mainly ascribed to the outdated nature of the regulation the supreme court embarked on the drafting process. Since then the draft has been revised three times and it was put before Parliament three weeks ago. Ethiopian courts were formally established in 1942, with the adoption of the Judicial Administration Proclamation. However, the legal instrument controlling court fees was adopted before the civil procedure code which specified the service fees.


Radar

Revenue Drive Intensifies Following 900 Billion Br Milestone

The Minister of Revenue announced plans to collect 1.28 trillion Br in the upcoming fiscal year. This announcement was made during a discussion forum organised by the Ministry of Revenue (MoR) and the Customs Commission, which included senior leaders, employees, and relevant stakeholders. The event, themed "We will achieve our mission through coordinated leadership and active participation of employees," served as the platform for this important announcement. According to the ministry, they s...


Radar

Parliament Endorses Electoral Law Change Tying Party Support to Member Contributions

Federal legislators have ratified a contentious amendment to the Ethiopian Electoral, Political Parties' Registration, and Elections Code of Conduct Proclamation, revising the criteria political parties must meet to access government funding. The revised proclamation requires political parties to secure at least 20pc of their income from membership contributions in order to qualify for government grants. The clause passed with a majority vote in parliament, with two votes against and four abs...


Radar

City Unveils Major School Expansion Across 11 Districts

Addis Abeba City Administration has launched 150 education projects valued at over 5.2 billion Br ahead of the 2026 academic year. Spread across the capital's 11 districts, the rollout includes 14 newly built schools and upgrades to 64 existing facilities, adding 1,655 classrooms alongside ICT labs, libraries, and sports fields. City officials say the investment is part of efforts to improve access and quality of education, with infrastructure designed to accommodate students with disabilitie...