Zelalem Shiferaw Woldemichael is a PhD candidate at the Melbourne Law School. Before joining the Melbourne Law School for postgraduate study in 2020, Zelalem was an academic staff member of the Law School of Jimma University, where he taught criminal procedure law and Ethiopian human rights systems. Zelalem holds LL. B from Jimma University, LL.M in Human Rights Law from Addis Ababa University, and LL.M in Rule of Law for Development from the Loyola University of Chicago. Mr. Zelalem’s works cover constitutional protection of human rights, human trafficking, and the rights of women and children.
Thesis Title
Federal-State intergovernmental Relations and Investigation and Prosecution of Human Rights Violations in the Federal State of Ethiopia
Thesis Summary
The failure of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to adequately regulate the distribution of responsibility over the federal criminal laws and the federal-state intergovernmental relations (IGR) during the execution of such laws have exacerbated Ethiopia’s long-standing problem of investigating and prosecuting human rights violations. On January 11, 2021, the federal government enacted the IGR Law with a view, among others, to assisting the levels of government in executing their constitutionally assigned responsibilities. This thesis will assess whether a system of IGR will strengthen the investigation and prosecution of human rights violations.