Should Diaspora Members Be Allowed to Practice Law?

Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)

Eden Sahle

23 April 2011

In a rare intra-ministry squabble, authorities at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) find themselves at odds with their counterparts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) over whether Ethiopian born foreign nationals with training in law could practice their trade in Ethiopian courts.

MoJ is mandated by law to issue licences to lawyers, but rejected applications for licences filed by Ethiopian born foreign nationals seeking advocacy before courts in the country. Close to 10 such applicants were turned down by the ministry over the past year, sources told Fortune.

Experts from both ministries had a meeting to resolve the matter earlier this year, where experts from MoJ stood their ground that the right of legal advocacy is not open to everyone.

This position has provoked a dispute with the applicants, while it raises fundamental questions about the boundaries of privileges granted to members of the Diaspora under the proclamation for Foreign Nationals of Ethiopian Origin with Certain Rights to Be Exercised in Their Country of Origin, issued in 2002.

It also caused a debate about the very nature of legal advocacy services and who should be providing them, as it is stated in the proclamation for Federal Courts Advocates Licensing Registration, issued in 2000. “Any Ethiopian who has the professional training in law could be licensed,” the proclamation stated.

In both proclamations, the licensing of advocates with a foreign nationality is neither prohibited nor permitted and this has opened the door for sharp disagreements.

Officials at MoJ understand the law on permission of advocacy in its strict sense that, “Practicing law is reserved only for Ethiopian nationals.” Being an Ethiopian citizen is one of the requirements for obtaining a licence, the officials argued.

“This makes it essential that the applicant be an Ethiopian national in order to be granted a licence by MoJ,” Mekonene Bezabih, head of communications for the ministry, told Fortune.

This is supported by some in the legal environment.

Brehanu Taye, a practicing lawyer who is licensed to litigate in federal courts, is one of these who defend MoJ’s position.

“Although the foreign national law is more specific than the licensing law, it does not provide foreign nationals the option to engage in advocacy activities,” he argued.

However, this claim is challenged by some applicants who interpret the same proclamation differently.

Other than eligibility to the legislative body and the judiciary as judges or serving in national defence, security, and foreign affairs, Ethiopian born foreign nationals can practice any field of expertise, they said.

Their claim is based on the proclamation governing the affairs of the Diaspora.

Mulugeta Aregawi, who teaches constitutional and media law on a part-time basis at Addis Abeba University (AAU), is one of these applicants whose interest to provide advocacy services has been given a cold shoulder.

A naturalised American citizen who returned to Ethiopia two years ago, Mulugeta received his first degree in law from AAU in the mid 1990s. While in the United States (US), he became a licensed attorney practicing law in US courts, even before he changed his nationality.

To his surprise, Mulugeta’s application for a licence was denied a few weeks ago. MoJ has never issued a licence to a non-Ethiopian applicant.

Officials at MoFA believe this is a skewed way of enforcing the law.

“Other than those specifically prohibited exceptions, foreign nationals of Ethiopian origin are allowed to practice law in the country of their origin,” Dina Mufti, spokesperson for the MoFA, told Fortune.

His views are supported by many in the legal circle. The licensing form requires the name and nationality of the applicant, indicating that the licence is open to non-Ethiopians as well, practicing lawyers argued.

“If it were only reserved for Ethiopians, there is no point in specifying nationality,” said a lecturer of law at AAU who wished to remain anonymous.

Most legal experts Fortune spoke to contested MoJs’ views, pointing out that what is not specifically prohibited is permitted.

“Advocacy is a profession and any person trained and experienced in it can apply for a licence,” Mulugeta told Fortune. “The country accepts foreign nationals who are trained in medicine who are not Ethiopian, and as both field of expertise are open to all trained professionals, lawyers should not be required to be only Ethiopian nationals.”

This argument is supported by a judge who presides over a civil bench at the Federal High Court.

“The profession is open to any trained professional,” he told Fortune. “It should not be constrained by nationality.”

However, MoJ is locked in its position.

“The ministry will stick to its position that an advocate should be an Ethiopian citizen,” Mekonene told Fortune.

Non-Ethiopians might be considered if MoJ decided to propose amendments to the proclamation, according to the communications head.

AllAfrica – All the Time