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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/7471
Title: Ethiopia’s Criminal Law Evolution from the Perspectives of Major Legal Theories: An Overview
Authors: Assefa, Simeneh Kiros
Keywords: Jurisprudence · Legal theory · Natural law · Legal positivism · Social theories of law · Pragmatic instrumentalism
Issue Date: Dec-2022
Publisher: ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Abstract: This article reviews the various theories of law applied throughout the modern development of the Ethiopian system of rules from a criminal law perspective. As is elsewhere, the initial influences mainly relate to the natural law theory. Later, positivisation evolved as part of the modernisation of law. Further, as part of the modernisation of society, the social theory of law evolved. With the PMAC coming to power, the Marxist theory of law crept in. The excessive connection between law and politics glamoured the instrumentality of the law. This got prominence in the post-2005 election in Ethiopia. The theories of law are abstracted from the manner the laws were designed, or the way they are implemented. The discussion looks into the difference between the statutes and the application of criminal law. Further, it shows that legal theory has a method aspect. I finally argue for the pragmatic instrumentality of the law.
URI: .
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/7471
Appears in Collections:Mizan Law Review

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