BY KASSAHUN CHANIE
The 4th National Legislators Joint Consultation Forum has been underway in Harari Regional State, in the presence of the President of the Supreme Court, Tewodros Mehret, the Minister of Justice, Gideon Timotheos (PhD), and the Chairperson of the House of People’s Representatives Standing Committee on Law and Justice Affairs, Etsgenet Mengistu, who presented the implementation and supervision reports alongside the two House Speakers.
When he officially opened the legislative forum, Tagesse Chafo, the Speaker of Ethiopia’s House of People’s Representatives, noted that the forum is critical for the close execution of laws that are consistent with one another in Ethiopia.
While explaining the significance of the joint consultation forum, the House Speaker stated that it is intended to maintain the strengths between the federal and state governments, as well as the states, and to fill existing or future gaps, adding that because society is complaining about the justice system, it is necessary to strengthen the judicial institutions that follow the legal procedure to solve the problem in the justice system.
Tagesse went on saying that for society to have faith in and come to the judicial institutions, the judicial institutions must provide quality services supported by technology and expertise.
Thus, modernizing the legal system is crucial for the country's peace and security, Speaker Tagesse noted that to avoid the turmoil that emerges in the judicial system, judicial bodies from the district to the federal level should collaborate and find a lasting solution. He stated that the House of People’s Representatives should increase its support so that the reforms being implemented to improve the justice system do not backfire.
In a similar development, Gideon Timotheos (PhD), Minister of Justice commented that efforts are being made by judicial bodies at all levels to continue transformational actions so that society can have faith in the legal system while urging regional leaders to collaborate.
Tewodros Mehret, President of the Federal Supreme Court, indicated that attempts are being made to improve the quality of justice in a way that does not jeopardize the judiciary's independence to avoid public outrage on the part of the court.
Chairperson of the House of People's Representatives Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Etsgenet Mengistu, stated that the vigilance act was created by the society to protect their rights up to the federal hearing, noting that when the society believes there is a legal error, there are plenty of ways seen on the public when practicing to protect their rights by coming to the Council of Constitutional Inquiry and the House of Federation.
She further emphasized that judicial bodies at all levels should benefit from the experience of judicial bodies with extensive experience to sustain the standard of justice across the country accentuating that the forum is critical for the country’s rule of law to be respected and the democratic system to be realized more than ever.
The National Dialogue Commission, the Court and Judicial Institution transformation plan implementation report and other oversight reports were also tabled for discussion in the forum