The status of Amhara National Regional State City Courts: Are they Administrative Courts or what? (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Law - Public Law / Administrative Law, grade: 1, University of Gondar, language: English, abstract: Administrative tribunals are neither court nor administrative bodies; rather they combine the advantages of both courts and administrative bodies in a way that best fits the specific needs of review of administrative action. Such courts were created as a separate hierarchy of courts to stop the ordinary courts from interfering with the executive. In Ethiopia, there are both embedded and extra-departmental administrative tribunals. On the other hand, City/ Municipal Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. While governed by the Constitution and state law, City Courts are courts that are independent arms of the city government. City courts of the Amhara National Regional State not only follow legally prescribed procedures, as article 78 of the Constitution obliged but also can apply the revised regional courts' establishment proclamation. Thus the writer of this paper argues that city courts of the region are not administrative courts but courts of a city administration that function according to the constitution despite their structural and organizational limitations. The material jurisdictions of city courts are also the jurisdiction of ordinary courts in cities that did not have city courts. This is another reason that city courts are not administrative courts because administrative courts cannot assume the jurisdictional power of courts but only administrative organs. Furthermore, it can be said that from the reading of their establishing proclamation, city courts of the region are a substitution for ordinary courts on cases arising from city matters. The appointment process, administration grounds for removal, and the process for removal of city court judges are also similar to ordinary courts. Thus the writer concludes that city courts of the region are not administrative courts rather they are a substitution for ordinary courts and an expression of self-administration for metropolitan cities on issues arising in city matters.